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#and they were well trained and well socialized and because of that were very friendly and loved humans
ceasarslegion · 1 year
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I do wonder if all these internet poisoned folks who seek out "irredeemable and problematic fiction" to yell about are the same types who run up to pet random dogs they dont know and then scream at the owners when they get growled at or bit
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be-good-to-bugs · 6 months
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never again would i like to work on Halloween
#the bin#halloween is for spending alone or for getting absolutely wrecked and being qround a bunch of people#NOT for spending at work doing work being at work stamding at work walking around all day at work doing work at work#but hey. at least it was a very slow tuesday bc everyone was busy with halloween. so ill only have 1 tuesday left#looking forward to starting my new job. i actually kinda really enjoy customer service. i love interacting with people for short time#ofc people can be mean and bad but i can deal with that just fine. i get so much out of short nice interactions and those are discouraged#where i work now. i try to be nice and have friendly interactions as much as i can because its nice but overall my experience is just around#people but not interacting with them otehr than to ask them to please move. when i do interact with people im so nice and helpful and i like#doing it but its kinda bleh. idk. i know im prob gonna hate this job a lot of the time too but id like something different.#and honestly i think itll be good for me. my social anxiety and ability to interact with people is so much better than it was before#and like. it happened so shortly after starting this job. i had to do things so i did and now i know its ok. i have a better understanding#of how people behave and react to how i am and all that stuff. and i think itd be nice to be in an environment where i can be kinda jokey#im a silly person but i think ive cracked maybe 2 jokes total while working at this place for almost 6 months#i make like 12 jokes a day at least when i interact with other people. when i talk or tjink about stuff i just make jokes constantly#but i.dont feel like i can do that at this job. the people are nice but its just a different environment and my type of humor and#personality doesnt mesh well if im joking. i work well there but its kinda bleh for me#but my managers were very nice about my giving my 2 weeks so. and perfect timing because tomorrow im training someone#new to start the same job as me to help out. woulve been doing it anyway and theyd be tehre to fill in when im out suck but instead i#think theyll just replace me so it works out. and i like teaching peope how to do my job :>#me rambling abt my life. nobody cares to read this lol. its not matter. these posts are boring but it feels nice to post stuff like it#makes me feel less isolated even of nobody sees it. different from thping it into a private notes app#idk. i need to talk to people more
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pers1st · 2 months
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i can't handle change - leah williamson x reader
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part two of let down
pairing: leah williamson x barça!reader
warnings: bit angsty
You had expected your first day, merely a day after arriving in the city, to be full of football. Barcelona did media duties occasionally, for sure. But you had expected to throw yourself into training immediately here, mostly in an attempt to conceal your emotions and at least act as though you wanted to give everything for this club. In truth, you wanted to give everything for yourself. You wanted to keep yourself a candidate for the national team, you wanted to keep yourself a candidate for Barcelona once they were ready to sign you back, you wanted to play, partially, out of spite as well. Anger was one of the emotions in your mess of a mind, and although you knew that it was no use, you wanted to show Jona the mistake he had made.
What you hadn't expected was the absolutely overwhelming amount of cameras, catching every inch of you they could. London Colney, otherwise known as the Arsenal training centre, was nice, but it was different from what you were used. The corridors were small and you feared they'd squish you if you stared at the white walls for a second too long. The friendly woman from the entrance, who's name you had missed due to her heavily accented English, had led you all the way to Jonas' office on the first floor, and the man was gauging at you with a grin you couldn't quite place. You shifted uncomfortably.
"So, let's put pen to paper!", he clapped his hands as he gently motioned to the seat next to him after having shaken your sweaty hand.
"Yes", you croaked as you sat down, taking the pen with the Arsenal logo into your shaky grip. The smile on your lips was fake as ever as you scribbled your name onto the dotted line. You fooled them again when holding up your shirt for the cameras. And again as you sat in front of the social media's team, answering all of their questions.
Your move surprised everyone in the Women's Football Community, can you tell us what exactly made you choose Arsenal?
Of course. I think Arsenal are very good with the fans, and they play really good football. I'm really excited to maybe play at the Emirates, and yeah I think anyone can see they are a real family so that's why I'm happy to be a part of it.
They payed the most. That was the answer you would've given, had anyone actually wanted to hear the truth from you. But people didn't want the truth. People wanted you to love Arsenal. And although it pained you, you had to admit that so far, it wasn't that bad.
Leah gave you a tour of her home that was now yours too, and the training grounds were nice. The gym was nice. The changing room was nice. The cafeteria was nice. You couldn't hate the club as much as you had when you hadn't seen it yet - hadn't been a part of it.
"So, do you like it here?"
You thought for a second that you would choke on your food when Wally asked you this, completely blindsiding you as you sat with her, Leah, Laia and Teyah in the dining hall, letting most of their conversation slip past you. Their English was difficult for you, not because you hadn't learned (or, attempted to learn) them language, but because you'd never heard it as much as you did here. The words were starting to become a constant, distant noise somewhere in the back of your mind, but as Wally looked at you expectantly and the others turned towards you, you knew that this wasn't something you could escape.
"Yeah, sure", you smiled. "It's nice here."
"Your contract is two years, right?"
You nodded. "Sí."
Two years. Two long years of being away from Alexia, except for Spanish camps. Two long years of being away from your parents, your actual teammates, your actual home. The thought didn't scare you as much as it used to.
"So, two years and then you'll go back?", Leah nudged you playfully, sipping her water as she smirked.
You shrugged. "We should see."
Over the next few days, you got to know the team, and London, even better. Leah spent every minute she could with you, always partnering with you during training and offering to show you her favorite cafés and places in the city when you weren't kicking balls around, inviting you over to her flat for a movie night or taking you to the little Spanish market she'd found halfway across the city. You appreciated her company, knowing that she was trying to make this transition as comfortable for you as possible. She didn't succeed completely, as you still felt homesick whenever she spared you a minute to call Alexia, or when you checked Barça's social media to see all of your teammates together, seemingly not even missing you.
Logically, you knew that they did. Barça was a family, and Alexia told you everyday that the girls were asking about you. Many of them texted you as well, informing you that they would try and find a livestream of your cup game against Reading, in which you would likely make your debut for your new club. Still, seeing them without you felt like someone was shooting daggers through your chest, piercing the skin and leaving you to bleed. You wanted to be there. You should be there. They had taken that opportunity away from you, ripping it out of your hands and tearing it apart like a piece of paper.
Anger and longing rose within you interchangeably, and if you didn't know any better, you would've believed you were simply going through a breakup like any other. But you forced yourself to push through the first week as hard as you could, keeping conversations with Alexia short in order to not be pulled back into memories and instead attempt to enjoy the present.
You were glad when Laia told you about her birthday party just a few days before your first match. The team had planned to go to Laia's favorite Spanish restaurant, and as you were a part of the team now as well, Kim had extended the reservation for another person. That was how you had found yourself, dressed in a tight black dress with a pullover on top, in Leah's car, allowing yourself to accept her offer to share a ride, trying to ignore the ringing phone in your hands.
Your ringtone cut off the soft country music playing in the background, which you had told Leah many times you would not enjoy. When the ringing finally stopped, you breathed a sigh of relief. Just for it to start again mere seconds later.
"Maybe you should answer that", Leah huffed, her eyes focused on the road but a soft smile on her lips. You shrugged.
"It's Alexia."
"You're ignoring the Alexia Putellas?" Leah's expression turned into a shocked one at once, but you could only chuckle.
"You're feeding her ego. She's just- my best friend, you know?", you attempted to explain how Ale's success had never driven a wedge between the two of you, not only because many believed you were equally good at football, but because Alexia was likely the most down-to-earth person you knew. Of course, the woman knew how good she was. Everyone did. But she'd never let it change her.
"Isn't that just more of a reason to not ignore her?"
You shrugged again.
"I dunno. Don't want to talk to her."
Leah's eyebrows furrowed as you finally reached your destination and she put the car into park. Your phone began ringing again. This time, you declined her call, texting her quickly that you couldn't talk right now.
"Why?"
You shrugged again. It seemed like all you knew to do, but as you looked at the way Leah's expression didn't relent in the slightest, you knew that it wouldn't work anymore. Maybe it was good to talk to Leah. Maybe she would understand.
"It just reminds me of home, you know. I miss it", you croaked, suddenly overwhelmed with longing once more. You wanted nothing more than to be in your apartment again, to drive to the Barcelona training grounds in your blue and red shirt, to join Mapi's banter, you even missed being yelled at by Irene and Marta.
"Are we really that bad?", Leah attempted to joke, a hand of hers flying out to gently land on your knee. Your breath hitched at the sudden contact, your eyes leaving hers to stare at her fingers on your skin.
“No”, you huffed. “Not at all, that’s the problem.”
Sitting in the car with Leah, nothing but the annoying country music in the background, for a second felt like a breath of fresh air. For just a second, you could focus on the warmth of her skin, on the air refresher dangling from her rearview mirror, on the eyes that she lay on you gently, on the softness of it all.
“Should we go?”, you broke the silence, knowing that Laia would not be happy if you were late. It was past ten already, and you softly smiled at the knowledge that some Spanish habits never truly left. It felt comforting to eat this late, as stupid as it sounded. It reminded you of the countless team dinners you’d had with Barça. You didn’t allow yourself, once again, to dwell on the fond memories as you pushed your door open without awaiting Leah’s answer, her hand retrieving from its position as she followed you into the restaurant, a bottle of Spanish wine in your hands. You had brought as much as you had been allowed to bring, and you figured passing Laia one singular bottle couldn’t hurt too much.
The restaurant held a nice atmosphere, one that immediately pulled you in as the bell jingled above your head. Most of the girls were already sitting at the table reserved for you, who all turned as they waved at you happily, grins plastered on their faces. Laia caught your eye first - she was wearing a little plastic crown, grinning like a kid on Christmas as she rose from her seat, hurrying to welcome you and Leah, who seemed to be the last ones to have arrived.
"¡Feliç aniversari!", you hugged Laia shortly, rubbing your hand across her back before pushing the bottle into her hands.
"Merci", she smiled as she accepted it, taking Leah into a short hug as well before you made your way towards the only seats available. The warmth of Leah's body next to yours, the familiar food and music playing softly in the background almost made you forget about the guilt in your stomach. You weren't supposed to enjoy all of this half as much as you did.
Seemingly as a distraction, though you figured you subconsciously wanted to remind yourself of what was your actual home, you opened Instagram. A video of Aitana singing the Barça chant, laughing into the camera with golden confetti around her shoulders, made you halt. You scrolled. You saw the trophy.
Shit - that was what Alexia had been calling you about. Of course. It came back to you flying - the supercopa final was today. How could you have forgotten? It was all you had been looking forward to ever since the winter break had ended. Yet you were so far away from it all, the match had slipped between your fingers, and you were left with nothing but the reminder that Barcelona functioned just as well without you, that they had simply moved on, while you were stuck here - in a Spanish restaurant, with your "friends", trying to remind yourself that if you tried hard enough, this could feel like home.
With a screech, you pushed your chair back and wobbled out of your seat uncomfortably.
"Just need the bathroom", you excused yourself in response to Leah's surprised expression, before marching through the restaurant and leaving all of the girls behind.
The bathroom was empty, luckily, and you let the tears flow at once. How had you been so stupid? How had you thought that, even for a minute, you would be okay so far away from your home, watching your teammates do all the things you wanted to do with them, while seemingly not missing you at all?
It didn't make any sense to you- Barcelona could win every trophy they wanted, while you were stuck in London, not even sure whether they would want you back after your contract was over. Were you delusional? Were you ever going to return to Barcelona?
Just as your brain started spinning further, and you had to steady yourself on the sink, knuckles turning white from how hard you wanted to keep yourself grounded, the door to the bathroom swung open. You didn't need to look up to know who it was - her body was right behind you, and she smelled of vanilla, just like her car did.
Leah. It was Leah who had entered the bathroom. Leah who was frantically trying to get you to talk to her, all the while you were choking on your sobs. Leah, who had tried her best to make you somewhat comfortable in the club she loved so much. How were you supposed to look her in the eye?
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inuyashaluver · 1 month
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hi hi hi I love your fics. I was wondering if you could more grace clinton. maybe about a new years kiss?? <33 also I love the way you add the social media posts very nice touch!!
happy new year - grace clinton
grace clinton x reader
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description: in which you and your best friend don’t have anyone to kiss for new years, a friendly kiss won’t hurt, right?
warnings: long!! a little swearing
a/n: my love! you’re so sweet, thank you so much for the kindness and your request, enjoy ❤️ media posts till i DIEE, also can we tell i get to requests late HAHAHHA
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since the day you and your best friend, grace, met, she has always been your go to person. you and grace had a bond that people could only dream about, radiating love, warmth and respect.
the two of you were truly a dynamic duo, stuck together like glue. unfortunately for the both of you, in a platonic way, something you both unknowingly wanted to progress further into something more.
it’s been that way since you were both 12, the best of friends through thick and thin. the bond between the two of you was very special, everyone could tell.
specifically through the way you both could laugh at anything and everything. the ability to be serious yet silly all at the same time.
sharing your stupid little inside jokes that had you both cackling while everyone shrugged around you because they really didn’t understand the joke. it was soulmate energy, affection begging to be shown between the two of you.
no one really understood you like grace did and vice versa. you truly brought out the best in each other, both on and off the pitch. it was honestly quite concerning how the two of you didn’t realise the amount of mutual infatuation you had for each other.
especially since you lived together, played in all the same clubs, spent each and every minute of everyday with each other, yet the confessions were never verbalised.
the amount of times the two of you had been ‘subtly’ told by your teammates that you both liked each other was unnerving. both of you dismissing it.
in your case, you were terrified to say something, the time didn’t feel right. you and grace had just been called up to the senior england team, both of your seasons at the spurs was going well, you didn’t want to jeopardise anything, you couldn’t afford to lose grace.
in grace’s case, she was also terrified, she could never really confirm whether your affection towards her was strictly platonic or not, you were notorious for being one of the kindest people in the world, you were incredibly affectionate, she truly believed you only viewed her as a friend.
oh how the two of you were just plain wrong. you’re absolutely perfect for each other.
grace was scrambling around your shared flat, huffing out in frustration when she couldn’t find her left boot. you both had to leave for training in 5 minutes.
“love, have you seen my boot anywhere?” she yells out, now for some reason throwing all the pillows off the couch.
you come into the room with a concerned expression, holding back a laugh at an annoyed grace laying on her stomach with her phone light shining under the couch.
“gracie” you call out, holding the boot in your hand with a cheeky grin. she whips her head towards you, letting out a sigh of relief and hurrying up towards you.
“you’re a lifesaver” she breathes out, grabbing the back of your head and placing a kiss on the top of it before she rushes back to her room.
your cheeks flush instantly and you have to fan yourself to calm down, moving to grab some pre-made smoothies from your fridge for the car ride, pressing them against your cheeks.
you sling your bag over your shoulder and wait for grace by the door, she was always the late one out of the two of you. she comes out with a smile, a little puffed out from all the hustle and bustle.
she takes one of the cups from you, also taking your bag off your shoulder and putting it on hers, “gracie,” you groan, ready to tell her you can carry your own bag.
she looks over her shoulder at you, winking when she caught your eye, “shh, let gracie help you, love” she mocks and shuts you up, making you shake your head fondly as she walks you out to her car.
when you’re both situated in your seats, grace wordlessly hands you the aux cord, sending you a gentle grin as your fingers brushed hers as you took it.
whatever song you played, grace made an effort to add it to her secret playlist dedicated to you, learning all the songs on there off by heart so she could scream the lyrics with you.
you and grace both entered the spurs training facility with bright grins, laughing loudly with each other as you stumble through the door, unaware the social media team was filming a little project at the moment.
“our dynamic duo, what’s on your lockscreen?” she said, you and grace simmer down your giggles, taking your phones out and showing them to the camera.
“this is a picture of grace being an idiot” you chuckle, saying it while directly looking at her, she sticks her tongue out and puts her phone in front of yours, “here’s a photo of (y/n) being an idiot” she parrots cheekily, making you laugh when you see the photo.
you both wave to the camera and grace slings her arm over your shoulder, still carrying yours and hers bags when you enter the change rooms.
the comments on that video had everyone going insane, there was always the common debate about yours and grace’s relationship, considering how close the two of you were.
there were so many instances where you and grace were obviously in love, not uncommon in your day to day life.
you were both walking out to the pitch for training, grace telling you a story that had you laughing brightly, only becoming worse when she would keep adding to it, struggling through the laughs she was producing.
“and then i fucking dropped the drink on the floor and it went everywhere!” she laughed, you join her, stumbling over your feet about to fall to the ground before you felt a warm hand planted firmly on your waist.
grace pulled you up quickly, the force of it having you smashing into her side, “easy” she chuckles, rubbing up and down your waist quickly before she let it linger on your lower back, directing your steps.
your cheeks go pink, your breath quickening a little at the interaction.
grace looks down at you a little worried about your breathing, “you okay?” her thick, northern accent making your stomach lurch, butterflies were an understatement when it came to grace.
“yep, fine” you breathe out, grace narrows her eyes at you but nods, hand still on your back as the group gathers, only leaving your body when you had to train, and of course, you’re partnered up.
clearly the two of you were in a silly mood because you two could not stop giggling. everyone would smile at the two of you, honestly the both of you were big kids stuck in adult bodies and it was incredibly endearing.
you were a striker, grace decided to practise her set piece with you in preparation for an upcoming match. you were known to be a little unstoppable, a rising star in everyone’s eyes, you were relentless when it came to scoring goals.
grace kicked the ball to you and you plant it in the back of the net, grace runs over to you and hoists you up in her waist, running around with you as you scream and laugh. acting as though she’s never seen you score before.
“top bins” she yells, making you laugh brightly as she jumped up and down with you in her arms, you slap her shoulder with a laugh, “gracie we have to practise,” you chuckle, she places you down on the floor with a laugh, waiting for you to run up so she could pass you the ball again.
and when you manage to score again, she just could not ignore the amount of admiration for you, hoisting you up again and running around the pitch while the team laughs at your screams and laughter.
“$5 they confess right now” beth jokes, celin laughs brightly, “no way, i don’t think it will ever happen” she smiles, watching as grace puts you on the ground as you shove her, your smiles infectious for everyone watching. “they’re so stupid” beth coos.
“gracie, don’t do that anymore” you laugh, giving her chest a little shove, “never” she replies cheekily, giving your nose a little squeeze before running off.
you smile as you watch her running off, waiting for you by your water bottles and chucking yours to you when you were near.
“what a save! ever considered being a goal keeper?” she teases, you drink your water with a shake of your head and flip her off, making her giggle before you both chat back and forth, promptly getting yelled at by beth for being distracted.
changes were evident when you and grace got called up again for the senior team, only this time, you were both debuting.
you were both starting, grace managing to assist you in two goals and getting her own in turn. you both got subbed off 20 minutes till full time and collapsed on the bench with bright smiles.
“little superstar, two goals” grace smiles down at you, nudging your shoulder with hers, you smile at her, “little superstar, one goal, technically three with your perfect assists” you say cheekily, nudging her like she did to you.
she looked down at your lips for a second before swallowing harshly, suddenly hyper aware of where she was, she faced the front with a nervous expression. you missed it completely.
she quickly begins to feel comfortable when you joke about something, falling into comfortable conversation and giggles.
you both joked as you watched the match, both of you yelling when something bad would happen or when something went well. all grace could really focus on was you, only reacting when you would because you were actually paying attention.
when the match concluded, you jumped on grace’s back and without a second thought, she held you by the underside of your thighs as you went to talk to your teammates.
“are you two dating yet?” ella laughs when she saw you leaning down to whisper something in grace’s ear as she chuckled.
you both froze, alessia winces and slaps her best friend on the shoulder, “tooney!” she exclaims, ella looks at her offendedly, “what?” alessia shakes her head, sending you both an apologetic smile as she dragged ella away, promptly scolding the girl as they walked.
you clear your throat and wriggle out of grace’s embrace, awkwardly chatting while you walked along side each other but returning to normal when you both laughed about a sign someone was holding with both you and grace on it saying ‘bestie goals’. you both wished it said something else on it.
though, what really changed everything was a new year’s party the lionesses frequently had. you and grace both got ready at home and when you came out of your room to an awaiting grace on the couch, her breath hitched at seeing you.
you looked drop dead gorgeous, stumbling inside while adjusting your earring. her mouth was slightly agape as she took you in, “do you think this looks okay?” you say with a little uncertainty, giving a little twirl with a nervous smile.
“(y/n) you look so beautiful,” she says earnestly, her eyes staring into yours as you nervously shifted your weight between your feet. your cheeks were pink, and so were grace’s.
“really?” you breathe out, grace nods firmly, “really, love” she smiles, you look at grace up and down, smiling as you took in her appearance. you were unintentionally in matching colours.
“you look beautiful as well, gracie” you smile, “but you copied my colour” you tease, grace rolls her eyes amusingly, “fine, i’ll change” she jokes when she stands up from the couch, you catch her hand before she could move past her.
“you look perfect, no” you scold, pulling her towards the car. she swore she went into cardiac arrest then and there.
you’re still hand in hand by the time your reach the car, grace making an effort to open the door for you with a sheepish grin when you smile at her affectionately, a small, “thank you, gracie” escaping your lips that made her nervous.
when you both get to the party, you’re instantly thrust into different conversations, unfortunately being separated.
that didn’t mean you didn’t stop looking at each other, however, your eyes always managing to connect from the other side of the room before making your way to each other again.
you and grace opted to not drink, she had driven and you didn’t want her to be sober alone, she was incredibly grateful for you.
you both chat and laugh, engaging in other conversations while grace placed her hand on the small of your back again, claiming you needed to stay with her or she’d ‘go insane’.
it was 11:50 and you watched as your teammates and friends all neared their partners, sticking close to them so they could have that new years kiss.
you looked to your side on the small couch, grace. grace was there. like she always was.
you couldn’t help the lingering thoughts of how you wanted grace to be your new years kiss, something you dreamt about every year.
if only you knew about the war going on in her mind at that moment, she fiddled with the rings on her fingers as she watched the surrounding couples get increasingly affectionate as the time neared.
you and grace danced along to the music on the couch before you both got pulled up by ella, “no sitting!” she laughs, pushing you forward and making you stumble into her arms before she walked away with joe.
grace’s hands catch you by the waist, your own holding her shoulders for support as you looked up at her. she swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked at you, your wide eyes and plump lips making her incredibly nervous.
you glance over at the time quickly for good measure, 11:59. “it’s almost midnight” you breathe out, grace nods, humming at your words. “yeah, 1 minute” she points out, her head double checking before focusing back on you.
“should we kiss at midnight?” you blurt out, internally cursing yourself for your forwardness. though, to your surprised grace nods, “why not?” grace shrugs.
a little smile plays at the corner of her lips at the thought of kissing you. you were both incredibly surprised at how forward the whole situation was.
“nothing wrong with kissing your best friend” you stutter, “no, nothing at all” she rushes out, making you both giggle before you hear people counting down from ten.
your pupils were blown out, grace as well, additionally with the two of you so pink in the cheeks, it looked like you were sunburned.
both of your eyes would stare into each other’s before dropping to your lips, both of you were incredibly nervous but overall excited.
by the time it reached two, everything felt in slow motion as grace cradled your cheek in her hand, gently pulling you forward till your lips met hers.
“happy new year!” people yelled.
almost feeling as though you had done it before, you both kissed each other sweetly, expressing everything you felt just with the press against your lips.
she pulled you closer as your arms wrapped around her neck, pressing you against her as your mouths moved together.
grace lets out a happy sigh against you, her hand around you waist moving to give your hip and gentle squeeze.
you hum against her, making her grin against your lips, your own little grin making its way into the kiss before you both pulled away in need of air.
you’re both still incredibly close to each other, everything tuning out around you as your breaths intermingled with each other.
“i love you” she breathes out, you smile at her and without hesitation you reply, “i love you” making her grin and press another tender kiss against your lips.
you hear some faint cheering but you ignore it, only focusing on the girl in front of you. your girl. her girl. finally.
of course when you and grace pull away, you’re teased like no tomorrow, both of you just taking it with bright grins as grace back hugged you, her arms around your middle as she kissed your cheek, your hands holding onto her arms resting on you.
you both got home after the party and grace just couldn’t resist you anymore. kissing your neck gently while your shaky hands attempted to open the door.
she places her hand around yours holding the key, helping you open it with a chuckle and closing it behind her when she gently pushes you inside.
as soon as the door closes, you surge forward and kiss her, she hums out surprised against you, walking you backwards until you both reach the couch.
she sits down first, patting her lap and giving you an inviting smile that had you swooning. you straddle her lap and she pulls you into a kiss without missing a beat, your tongues exploring each others mouths before her teeth gently tugging your bottom lip.
you smile when she releases it gently, moving forward to kiss her again. she suddenly giggled against you and you pull away with an amused smile, cocking your head to the side questioning her giggles.
“sorry, i just never thought this would happen” she says adoringly, her hand moving to rub the apple of your cheek gently, “yeah, me too” you smile, carding your hands through her hair and gently scratching the back of her neck with your nails, making her completely melt under your touch.
you both talked and talked all night, interrupted by a few stolen kisses until you both fell asleep on the couch. when you woke up to grace’s head resting on your chest as your legs were tangled, you couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
you smooth down the back of her hair gently and she stirs awake, holding herself above you and smiling down charmingly before tucking her head into the crook of your neck.
she places a gentle kiss there before she straddles your hips, kissing all over your face until you broke out into a fit of giggles, making her giggle along with you just at the sweet sound.
“will you be my girlfriend, baby?” grace breathes out, nudging your nose with hers, you nod instantly, pulling the back of her neck until your lips met with hers gently.
“i’d love to” you whisper against her, another kiss placed on your lips that made you so dizzy, you were both absolutely blissed out.
when you both went back to training, let’s just say some money was passed around with groans at seeing your intertwined hands.
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you know the drill, just pretend it’s you! ily celin❤️
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graceclinton_x: me looking at her like this even though she stole my food
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yourname: baby, sharing is caring
↳ graceclinton_x: sharing is caring when it only applies to you, baby girl
↳ yourname: very true xx smart girl!
↳ graceclinton_x: mhm
ellatoone: why don’t you ever look at me like that, clinton?
↳ alessia: ella
↳ graceclinton_x: ella
↳ yourname: ella
↳ ellatoone: what?
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too-much-tma-stuff · 10 months
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I Don’t Believe You Care
Y’all are my beta readers XD if you see any errors please let me know. I’m going to post this on AO3 later.
Part one here
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The scolding that Bruce gave Damian was the gentlest either of them had ever received, but it did cow Damian enough that he behaved while meeting Cass and Stephanie. It helped that they were sweet, Stephanie was a bit energetic and overwhelming but Cass was quiet and seemed to understand them better. She helped reign in the over-enthusiastic family friend and Danny was glad to have her as a sister. She didn’t speak much, she communicated in signs that he didn’t understand but he thought that he could learn in time, and he wanted to. When he told her so she smiled and Steph squealed, insisting loudly and brightly that they would be happy to teach him!
He couldn’t help but feel relieved that when Alfred asked Stephanie if she would be staying for dinner she joked that she should actually spend some time at home for once. It seemed like she didn’t live here, though they knew of her identity as Spoiler and her involvement with the bats, all her noise and movement wouldn’t be a consistent presence around the house. Not that Danny didn’t like her! He just thought he’d like her best in relatively small doses before she could overwhelm him.
He would ask Cass to teach him when Steph wasn’t here, it might be just slightly trickier, but he could use the excuse of letting the two friends spend the time they had together. And maybe Tim could help him practice? He must know how to communicate with his sibling after all, and Danny could already tell he and Tim were going to get along.
He was even more glad that Steph had gone when Dick arrived because as the man came barrelling in like a hurricane Danny didn’t want to think of how much chaos and noise they would be together! For all his practice in social graces they really should have prepared him for this chaos, crowds, and friendly contact. But the compound had been short sighted and ill prepared in such regards.
Dick was the worst, Danny was almost jealous of Damian who could snarl and squirm and draw a knife on the man when Dick tried to hug him. Danny put on a smile and forced a laugh and pretended that his instinctual reaction to being held like this didn’t make him want to bite and rend. He knew that Dick meant well, or at least he thought so, the man was honestly famously good natured and cared for his family. Danny wanted to be on his good side, and couldn’t bring himself to actually say he didn’t want to be touched, or at least wasn’t used to it. The sudden, quick, and broad movements Dick favoured with his dramatics made Danny want to flinch though he had better self control then that!
He dodged hugs as gracefully as he could for the rest of the night and managed to sit him and Damian between Bruce and Tim for dinner, with Danny sitting next to Tim of course. The food was good, and everyone in the family was very welcoming, but by the end of it Danny was exhausted.
He was good at this sort of thing, trained to charm, and redirect apparently effortlessly, but the thing was it wasn’t effortless, and these sorts of situations were harder to simulate then battle. Danny had done a good job, he could tell that he had them charmed, and had them warming up to Damian too actually, but he also knew that he was drooping. He should hide his fatigue, but he was still human, he yawned.
“You’ve had a long day young masters,” Alfred said, instantly picking up on the mood, he was an impressive man and they both knew it. “Now that you’ve eaten why don’t you go settle in your rooms and get some rest? I took the liberty of going to buy you some pajamas and basics that should fit the two of you. I’m sure Master Bruce will be happy to take you both out to buy clothes more suited to your taste tomorrow,” he added.
“I think that’s a good idea, don’t you Damian,” Danny asked, glancing over at his brother.
“I’m not tired,” Damian harrumphed, of course he wouldn’t admit defeat. “But I would like to see where we will be staying,” He added. No doubt he’d thoroughly check security and for any potential surveillance before he slept. Danny wasn’t going to bother.
“Very good young Masters,” Alfred said with a nod, pausing to look back at Dick. “Will you be staying the night as well?” He asked the older man, who gave a rueful smile and shook his head.
“I’m needed in Bludhaven, I was able to come for the day on such short notice but I couldn’t get more time off. I’ll schedule a proper vacation as soon as possible so I can come back and visit!” He said giving Danyal and Damian an encouraging smile, and Danny did a good job of looking disappointed that Dick was leaving even though he was glad to have some time to get his feet under him before more of the family would be under the same roof once more. Maybe he hadn’t been as subtle as he thought about dodging Dick’s affection though, because he didn’t try to hug either of the boys goodbye.
He bid their siblings farewell and followed Alfred up to his bedroom, seeing Damian into his first and then going into his own. He was quick to brush his teeth and change into the comfortable, soft pajamas they’d been bought which did fit perfectly. Unfortunately when he flopped down into bed, regardless of how exhausted he was, he couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying the events of the day, how he did, how he could have done better, what he had learned about the family and what it meant.
After maybe an hour once things had gone quiet on the other side of the wall and he thought Damian was asleep Danny sighed and got up. He opened his window and climbed out, he braced his feet on the sill and shoved off, jumping unnaturally high for a human to grab on the edge of the roof and drag himself up onto it. He scrambled up gracefully and silently, finding a comfortable place to lay, looking up at the sky. He stayed there, zoning out for a while before he heard a soft thump on the roof near him.
“How did you get up here?” Bruce asked, dressed as Batman this time, Danny glanced over and gave him a small smile.
“You can’t really see the stars here,” he said, looking back up at the sky. “I won’t miss much about the compound, but I’ll miss the stars.”
“Not settling in particularly well?” Batman asked, sitting down on the ridge of the roof, a respectable distance between them.
“Oh I’ll be alright,” Danny said with a shrug. “They always raised me to be your heir after all, Damian will have more trouble than me. Want some advice?”
“Hm,” Batman said, an affirmative sound.
“Take him to a zoo, buy him art supplies. He’ll deny he cares about such things, but I know him better then anyone and he does. Once he realizes he really can be himself out here, that’ll help start undoing the brainwashing.”
“How are you so insightful about the situation? You can’t have avoided the brain washing.” Batman asked, and Danny shrugged. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Danny asked, glancing over just for a moment.
“How do I bond with you?” Bruce asked, and Danny laughed.
“You don’t have to. I don’t need to be won over or convinced. Our grandfather is a violent fool who only cares for himself, teaching me to recognize manipulation showed me what he really was years ago. If you turned me away entirely I still wouldn’t go back to the league.” He said with a wry smile.
“Hm,” Batman sounded unimpressed. “You’re still my son. I’d like to bond with you?”
Danny sighed, not sure why Batman was being stubborn when his energy was best spent elsewhere. He sat up and looked over at Batman, tilting his head slightly. “I don’t need you,” He said somewhat bluntly. “Damian does, give him your focus. If you truly want you can buy me an instrument, and books on astronomy.”
Batman nodded thoughtfully and Danny lay back down, there was a few moments of quiet between them before B spoke up again. “How did you get up here?” He asked again and Danny sighed.
“I guess you have to know eventually,” He murmured. “Part of the reason we’re both here is because Grandfather couldn’t decide who he wanted to be his heir, it was always supposed to be Damian but something happened and suddenly I was a much more attractive choice.”
“What happened?” B prompted after a moment.
“You know about the Pits? Most people dunked in it come back less, in the mind usually, sometimes less human, feral and monstrous. But rarely, once in the blue moon, someone comes back more.” Danny glanced over at Batman, and when he blinked he let his eyes flash green, glowing with the vile waters the kept Ra’s limping along. He could have explained more about the ways that he was different now, but he didn’t want to let on more then he had to at this point. He wasn’t naive enough to trust Bruce just because they shared blood, so he simply said; “I came back More, and I mean, I’m still a trained assassin, I probably could still have gotten up here even if I hadn’t.”
“But seemingly being chosen by Lazarus made me seem like a better option to grandfather, and your… complicated feelings towards empowered people is well known. So they didn’t know if you’d like me anymore.” His eyes faded back to blue and he looked up at the sky again, he couldn’t read Bruce’s expression under the cowl anyway. “It took a lot of subtle work to convince them to send us both so you could ‘decide which of us you wanted’.”
“Do you expect me to choose one of you?” Bruce asked, unreadable as ever.
“No, not really, you clearly like having many children. Damian still thinks now that you have a biological heir you’ll turn your adopted children away, but that’s grandfather talking and he’s a fool. If you do choose one then choose Damian, I’ll be fine on my own but he needs the help navigating this world. He’s strong, he’s clever, he’s more observant than me, he’ll make a good detective. He’ll be more loyal than me once you win him over too. He’ll be harder to break of the bad habits, I’ve never been as good at killing as him, but once he learns the way you do things I think he’ll be a good Robin.” Danny said, pulling up his knees and wrapping his arms around them, it was a bit chilly on the roof.
Batman hummed and nodded, which was good, if he had continued to push Danny would have had to bring up Jason. He knew that Jason was alive of course, but Bruce didn’t and Danyal would say he was more likely to end up like Jason if he had to but that was a last resort.
“Well I want you to know that both of you are very welcome here. And neither of you have to be Robin, or anything that you don’t want to be. I’ll support you in whatever you want to do, and you being a meta doesn’t change that at all. Both of you have a home here,” Bruce assured.
Danny nodded and gave Bruce a smile before standing up and smiling. “That’s good to hear,” He said, while not believing it at all. Bruce couldn’t and shouldn’t offer such unconditional support after just meeting them. “I should get back inside, it’s getting cold, and I am tired,” He said, wandering over the edge of the roof and stepping off, twisting around to grab the edge and swung off and back through the window before closing the window and brushing himself off so he wouldn’t get to much dirt in his sheets before crawling into bed.
He wasn’t fully asleep before the door to his room opened just enough for Damian to slip inside, he wasn’t surprised, Damian and he weren’t as independent from each other as they acted like they were. “You should have locked your door and blocked it somehow. We cannot trust the mongrels Father has taken in,” he hissed at Danny.
“Damian, shut up and get over here,” Danny mumbled sleepily, not bothering to open his eyes as he lifted the blankets on the other side of the bed. He heard a scoff and waited as Damian did whatever he needed to to feel like the room was secure and then came over to slide into bed next to Danny. Danny held out his arm, they didn’t exactly cuddle even when like this, but Damian liked to hold Danny’s wrist and feel his pulse. He had done it when they were younger but he had stopped for a while, it had only started up again after he had watched Danny die, it was understandable.
Damian wrapped one hand around Danny’s wrist, seeking out his pulse and tucked the other arm under his pillow, no doubt stashing a knife there. “None of them are going to hurt us Dami. They’re used to having multiple siblings, they probably compete, but other then one notable exception we’ve never heard of any of them trying to kill each other have we?”
“You don’t know that, Father’s has never had a biological child before, they must recognize we’re more of a threat then the others,” Damian argued in hushed tones.
“They won’t, we haven’t even proven ourselves yet. We could be incompetent.”
“We’re not!” Damian objected, his voice raising just a little and Danny hushed him softly.
“No, we’re not, but they don’t know that. I would suggest we keep out heads down for at least a month, we learned what we could about them from a distance but we should observe them. We’ve never been out of the compound except on missions, we have a lot to learn and whoever does end up his heir will have to be able to pretend to be normal. I intend to take Tim up on the lessons on popular media, perhaps it isn’t practical, but what about when we inevitably have to interact with people our own age at parties? What about interviews?
“We don’t want to reflect badly on father and if we don’t know Anything about such thing, or have any hobbies, or anything of the sort people will assume he treats us poorly.” Danny murmured and Damian harumphed, even without opening his eyes Danny could tell Damian was gritting his teeth.
“Why should we care what the uncultured masses think?” He hissed furiously and Danny cracked a small smile.
“Because father does. As the Bat his reputation is half of his weapon, and his identity as Bruce Wayne is carefully crafted to both divert suspicion from him being Batman and to make people like him. Father understands well how ones image is a tool, and being a good father is part of his image as Bruce Wayne, we will have to play into it if we want to succeed.” Danyal explained as gently as he could, he didn’t believe all of what he was saying really, or at least the way that he was framing it. He was framing it in the way he thought was best to make Damian start giving the outside world a chance, and hoping that when he did give it a chance he would find he liked it.
It was quiet for a long time which was good, it meant that Damian was properly considering what Danny had to say. He was nearly asleep before Damian spoke again, rousing Danny from his half doze. “Alright, knowing these ‘siblings’ patterns would help, and I can concede the point on the importance of reputation,” He said stiffly.
Danyal had to suppress a smile at his brother’s tone. “Good. And try to remember that unlike Mother and Grandfather batman has a rule against killing. Anything you do you must make sure it is never tracked back to us, especially because he’s not going to suddenly stop caring about them because we share his blood. If he finds out we hurt one of them it would absolutely ruin our chances, or be a huge set back at the very least,” He added, again trying to gently steer his brother in the direction he wanted. He was being manipulative, but it was the way he knew that worked.
“Father should know better then to develop such misplaced attachments,” Damian grumbled but then after a moment of silence he sighed and nodded. “All of our missions have had to be done in secret anyway, with time and planning we’ll manage.”
Well, it had bought them time and that had been Danyal’s goal so he nodded as well. “Good, now sleep Ahki, we’ve both had a long day and I’m tired.”
Damian let out a soft hum and that was all, he kept hold of Danny’s wrist even as he fell asleep, as he always did. Danny liked it too, the physical reminder that Damian was there, that they were safely together. He didn’t think that either of them would have to sneak out before dawn to make sure they weren’t caught and punished for such childish behaviour, he truly felt like they could rest.
Part three
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cursedvida · 7 months
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SAD EYES, BROKEN SMILE p.II (Buggy x f!Reader)
HERE PART 1 // HERE PART III
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Warnings: violence, swearing a lot, reader being a little tsunedere. Little age gap between the reader and Buggy, she's like 25/26.
A/N: i didn't plane this for having more than one chapter but here we go... Again sorry for the typos, English isn't my first language. I hope you enjoy this :D
You don't know much about seduction. In fact, you don't know anything. Throughout your life you've had very little interest in love affairs. You had a pretty rough teenage years, so you were too busy surviving to think about boys. Therefore, the whole thing with Buggy is something totally new to you. Not being in control of the situation gets on your nerves. It's irritating, nauseating. To think that right now you could have collected a nice reward and you could be quietly enjoying your money, but instead you're in that crew thinking about a clown all day is something your pride can't take. You often wonder how you could have stooped so low, but as soon as that red-nosed idiot pops into your head there is only room for daydreaming. 
Now your goal is no longer to kidnap him and hand him over to people who will probably kill him, but to try to make him notice you. But really you, as a possible love interest, and that's much harder than your first mission. It's like ten billion times more complicated. Killing people is a lot easier than attracting them. 
You were trained to kill people, so you're not a person who knows very well how to relate to others. Social skills aren't your strong suit and being nice for more than fifteen minutes isn't either. You've at least tried to be friendly with the rest of the crew, but by continuing to pretend you're a wimp you haven't had much chance to blend in either. 
Today the whole crew went to the nearest tavern for a drink. Buggy claims to have landed a deal that will bring in a lot of money, so he's in a good mood. At first the tavern keeper didn't seem too happy to welcome a gang of pirates to his place, but Buggy can be quite persuasive when he wants to be. 
Now they're all drunk. Buggy is the center of attention, as usual. He boasts of his great wit and everyone around him cheers him on. The alcohol causes all emotions to intensify. You watch him from the bar, this time you're drinking because it's the only way you don't feel ridiculous about being hopelessly attracted to that idiot. 
You have conflicting feelings all the time. You like him, but you think he's a dumbass. You're attracted to him, but at the same time you think he does terribly ridiculous things. You have no idea how to handle all those emotions, but you're also unable to take your eyes off him or ask yourself absurd questions, like how experienced he should be, or how he should look without makeup. You also often think about whether he'll like younger girls, because he's got more than a decade on you and you might not be his type. In fact, what his type is also comes to your mind all too often. 
Fuck, you're a mess. 
You order another mug of beer, turning away from staring at Buggy with an intensity that could break solid concrete. You've always had a good tolerance for alcohol so you're not drunk, just dizzy enough to make it all the same to you. The perfect state. 
"What's a girl like you doing surrounded by this bunch of weirdos?"
Suddenly you see a guy next to you, he doesn't belong to the crew. He's a big man, looking menacing. He must be one of the few people who have decided to stay in the bar despite the pirates. You decide to deliberately ignore him. 
"Hey gorgeous, I'm talking to you.”
You take another swig of beer, completely evading. You decide to turn around again, now Buggy is doing some sort of demonstration. He has detached his hand from the rest of his arm and swings his clenched fist at full speed. You don't know what he's talking about, but he sure has exaggerated the whole thing. You smile to yourself. 
"Who the fuck is that fucking clown?" asks the heavy one, still standing next to you. 
You don't even deign to look at him. 
"Shut the fuck up" You tell him in the coldest voice you can. 
"Don't tell me you're going with him and his whole gang of freaks" The guy lets out a huge laugh "Honey, a beauty like you is wasted among all those creeps."
"And the oxygen you use is also a waste considering it could be useful to someone who isn't useless to society."
"But what the fuck is wrong with you, does it bother you that much that I pick on that loser?"
"I told you before to shut the fuck up" You repeat calmly and without raising your voice. 
"Uh, you scare me" he laughs "almost as much as your big nosed captain". 
"All right, you asked for it”
The guy can't even react, as soon as he wants to realize you've already stuck an ashtray in his mouth, wedging it in such a way that he can barely breathe. And, before the others can even realize what's happening, you grab one of the stools and hit him so hard in the stomach that the guy goes flying towards the other end of the bar, hitting the wall with such force that the ashtray comes out of his mouth. 
You calmly return to your seat, taking another sip of beer as if nothing had happened. But it's at that moment that you come back to reality to realize that Buggy is no longer the center of attention, but you, and that everyone is staring at you in disbelief, including your captain. 
Fucking shit, for fuck's sake. 
Now you've really fucked up. You're supposed to be a rookie with barely any physical skills, not a killing machine. Let's see how you get out of this now, though at least Buggy is paying attention to you. God, you have to be a moron to think something like that at a time like that, you're totally losing your mind. 
"What the hell was that?" Buggy ask to you.
You just answer simply, as if everything that just happened was not with you.
"He was bothering me"
Buggy approaches you, something that makes you nervous. Not because he might be angry, but to have him around. You almost killed a guy just two minutes ago but having the man you're obsessed with looking at you makes your legs tremble.
“You broke all his teeth, Y/N.”
You look at the man across the bar. It's true, you've left his mouth in a mess, all his clothes are stained by the blood that falls on him. But hey, he asked for it, you warned him.
"Why hadn't you said you knew how to fight like that?" He insists, and you don't know if right now he's thinking of killing you, kicking you out of the crew, or both. 
You can't tell him that you were hired to hunt him down and that you've abandoned that task because you have a huge crush on him. Especially the crush part, you would never admit that, so you must think of a good excuse as soon as possible. 
"My parents trained me" and that's not a lie "but they always said to only use my skills if necessary" that's a lie, and a big one at that. 
Buggy looks you up and down, which makes your stomach tingle. You are so close to him that you can almost feel his breath on your skin. So close that it would be very easy to get a couple of centimeters closer and see what red lips taste like. You wonder what his skin must feel like against yours, or how your hands must feel tangled in his hair. You look like the narrator of a romance novel, it's pitiful but you can't help it. 
"You've been swabbing the deck since you came in, how did it not occur to you to say you could be of more use to us?”
"I'm sorry, captain."
Buggy lets out a sigh, there is something paternalistic in his attitude, that condescension that is so typical of him. That makes you relax, he believed everything. Probably because he's drunk, but you don't care about that now.
Buggy puts his hands on your shoulders, making you jump. It's the most contact you've had since you've known him and it's not even real contact because he's wearing the fucking gloves.
"Y/N, look at me" And you obey, although the fact of having him so close to you, being able to smell his alcohol breath mixed with that smell of gunpowder that characterizes him makes you a little dazed. You feel more and more like kissing him. "You can't keep such important information to yourself. But don't worry, I'm going to look for a better position for you. With how good you are at fighting, we're going to do great things together, huh."
You nod without further ado. It's a shitty proposition, he's just telling you that he'll use you as a weapon, like he uses the strongest members of his crew. But you don't care, because Buggy is touching you and because from now on you will be able to talk to him a lot more.
Maybe you should go talk to that guy from earlier and thank him.
Oh, god. Yeah, you're definitely going from bad to worse.
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clowningaroundmars · 1 month
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morales twins hcs
i'm absolutely in love with the idea of miles42 and miles1610 being twins, i'm so glad most of the fandom has basically adopted 42 lmao
some of my own twins headcanons, just random stuff to add onto other ppls hcs ive seen:
☆ 42 loves his mamí absolutely but def acts the most like his dad, and haaaates when anyone points it out. it's the most obvious when 42 gets mad, he sounds EXACTLY like his father then lol
☆ in fact, the twins polar opposite personalities is probs bc 1610 takes after his mom's temperament more, while 42 is as stoic, stubborn and slightly dorky as his dad is
☆ whenever the boys made each other cry (by accident or otherwise) they did the typical little kid thing and tried immediately comforting the other. now that they're older 1610 handles his emotions better and is mature when talking about them, but 42 is the one who comforts 1610 more often
more below ↓
☆ as well as staying on top of his academics, 42 also plays basketball and trains in a couple martial arts studios after school. 1610 is taller than 42 bc of the spider bite but 42 has always been slightly bigger and more muscular than 1610 since he's the athlete. whenever the family attends 42's boxing matches, jeff gets an overwhelming sense of deja vu from back when he attended his own brother's matches before
☆ they both got thru school p okay, not many incidents of bullying mostly bc if anyone did try, 42 would put a stop to that nonsense immediately. 42 loves his bro with his whole heart and was glad to pick a fight with anyone who gave him any trouble at all. the whole neighborhood knew it too bc the only person allowed to bully 1610 is 42 himself!
☆ in fact, 42 doesn't win the lottery to enter visions in the first place, which saddened both brothers when they found out. so because they're at separate schools now, 42 makes sure his twin knows that if any fuckery is afoot at visions that he'd be more than happy to roll up and dogwalk any fool who tries it. 1610 laughs him off but knows his bro has got his back for sure
☆ 42 likes to pretend 1610 is the nerdy one, but they are both very big anime and manga nerds. every time they hit up any bookstore, they both make a beeline for the manga section and argue over who's gonna read the newest one first (they have to share cuz those books cost some moneeyyyy, man)
☆ 1610 and 42 love their uncle to pieces, OFC. they both pick up separate traits from him, even. 42 was inspired to start martial arts and boxing from watching videos on old digital cameras that aaron hung onto thru the years. they were of a much younger aaron back in his boxing days, when his family went to his matches and recorded them from the seats. 1610 was inspired to pick up graffiti and then even started doodling in notebooks bc of aaron
☆ 1610 is def the social butterfly and easily the most popular kid on the block by virtue of how friendly and outgoing he is. 42 is more introverted and keeps a small circle of friends, but everyone is cool with him nonetheless since they fuck with his twin bro
☆ since 42 stays at home the most (lol he a homebody) he picks up cooking much better than 1610 thanks to him staying in the kitchen to help his mom make dinner while they watch telenovelas together. 42 also knows how to dance bachata and salsa much better than 1610 too
☆ both twins love physics and math but 42 is more hardware-inclined. 1610 is about software, data, and formulas. 42 is good at taking things apart, putting things together, building and engineering. he kinda takes after his uncle aaron that way, and drove his parents nuts as a lil kid when he got his hands on radios, computers, clocks, etc
☆ 1610 loves softer brighter music like JID, steve lacy, smino, frank ocean, kid cudi, post malone, and nujabes. 42 is always bumping harder shit like pop smoke, waka flocka, zillakami, three 6 mafia, benny the butcher and some oldies like paul wall, wu tang clan, biggie smalls, MF DOOM and big KRIT. they tease each other's music tastes a lot since they're polar opposites in almost every way
☆ they actually have a shared playlist where they add new music they like (probs on some e-1610 spotify or soundcloud equivalent since everything is slightly skewed on e-1610 tbh). both of them check it periodically, and 42 is the more frequent contributor
☆ they both make art but 1610 is the artsier kid for sure. 42 doodles occasionally but he's not as enthusiastic about it as his twin is. they both go around the city tagging walls whenever they have any free time, though. 1610 loves colors, expressive styles and is good at coming up with cool ways to draw text. 42's lines, accuracy and technical skill can never be beat
☆ 1610 has superpowers, sure, but his fighting skills are trash! 42 was always the scrappy one, not 1610, so he shows his twin how to properly throw punches and other useful fighting knowledge. it def comes in handy in the future
☆ jeff loves his sons to death but he often finds himself butting heads the most with 42 since they're so similar, it kinda drives them both nuts. it def gets worse once aaron starts gossiping abt what jeff used to be like when they were kids, giving 42 plenty of ammo. they love each other but their relationship is just as complicated as it is between jeff and 1610, and 42 would be lying if he said he wasn't affected by the rift between his dad and uncle himself
☆ the minute the twins turn 16, 42 goes out and gets his drivers license on the first try (computer quiz AND road test aced) and rubs it in 1610's face almost constantly. 1610 likes to throw back that there's no parking space for another car on their block, so he can't even get his own car even if he wanted to anyways
☆ whenever the boys really fight, the whole city seems to know. they squabble a lot obvi, they're brothers. but the very few times they've given each other the silent treatment like for real, everyone in the family tries to get them to make up since it's unsettling to see two peas in a pod be so hostile with each other
☆ and since they've always been attached at the hip, 1610 being enrolled into visions felt. weird. everyone thought 1610 was gonna take it the hardest but surprisingly 42 had a harder time adjusting since he always saw his bro in the hallways at school, and was so used to him knowing the latest gossip of anybody in their grade. without 1610 around as often, 42 becomes even more withdrawn than usual
rio looks up from the pot suddenly, glancing at the time. dinner was almost ready and she… hadn't seen not hide nor tail of her son this evening. he returned home from school a couple hours earlier, choosing to skip going to his boxing class to shut himself in his room.
fine. teenagers can be moody sometimes and rio would rather keep her moody son at home where she can keep an eye on him, rather than worry about what he's getting up to on the streets.
strange thing is, though... rio hadn't heard a single noise come out of that room all night. 42 usually liked to have at least some music playing, maybe video game noises out of his nintendo... oh, what was it called again? whatever, that nintendo thing he played on sometimes.
rio placed the lid on the pot and lowered the flame a bit before making her way over to her twin sons' bedroom door, hesitating a bit when she noticed no light was filtering out from the bottom either. okay... that was weird, too. neither of her sons ever went to bed before dinner. ever.
the one time rio dared to try and send her sons to bed without dinner years ago-- as punishment for fighting right there in the kitchen that time-- both twins hollered so loud they got concerned knocks on their front door from various different neighbors. never again, rio remembered thinking that time.
now, the bedroom door stands oddly quiet and completely hollow without any signs of life behind it. rio knocked anyways, hoping against hope itself that 42 didn't go ahead and sneak out of the house without her knowledge. if he did sneak out, he's grounded for 3 months, rio thinks to herself mostly as reassurance. she nervously picks at a nail and strains to hear anything behind the wood.
she thinks she hears a groan and decides to try her luck by slowly opening the door. hopefully he's not in there... y'know, doing teenage boy things, either. dios mío.
rio swings the door open to...
...a completely pitch-black room, save for the sliver of streetlight filtering in past a crack in the window curtains and casting an eerie yellow glow on anything it could touch. it is cold, and also deathly quiet.
rio is shocked.
she walks over to the right side of the room where 42's bed is pushed up against the corner, next to the windows. on that bed lies a big lump, buried under several layers of blankets. the lump stirs.
rio crosses her arms. "mijo, mi amor. are you sleeping? …pero qué te pasa, papí?"¹
42 rolls onto his back and glares sleepily at his concerned mother standing at his bedside. it's dark in the room, but rio's face is illuminated by the living room lights pouring in from the open door. she's wearing a tilted smile, but coupled with the worry lines on her forehead, it isn't fooling anyone.
42 slowly closes his eyes, chin still under the covers, and lets out the most world-weary sigh rio has ever heard coming out of someone as young as him. if it weren't coming from her own son, she might have even laughed.
she immediately sits down, lifting the cover off of 42's chin to check his temperature all over his face. he tries to wriggle away.
"maaaaaa, stop..." he grumbles, trying to pull the covers up higher over his head. "'m not sick, mamí, forreal… chill."
rio leans on a hand. "¿si no 'ta enfermó pues qué es?² what's wrong?"
42 doesn't answer for a bit and rio exhales through her nose. " 'moré, what are you doing in this pitch-black room all by yourself? no light, no music, no nothing. what's wrong? you look like you're on a death bed!"
42 finally opens his eyes again, and blinks a few times as he says, "nothing, ma. seriously, i'm just... tired. that's all. i'm fine."
"you don't look 'fine' 42, you look like 2 seconds away from flatlining."
another sigh from the boy. rio rolls her eyes and places her hand on his forehead again, then strokes his cheek.
"is it 1610? hmm?" rio asks 42. she asks so unbelievably gently, as if by only mentioning his brother's name she would shatter something in the room. a mirror or something.
42's heart clenches at the love and care his mother is showing around this particular topic. it was true, and he couldn't even deny it. having 1610 in the house less and less every week, not seeing him in the hallways at their local high school, receiving sparser and shorter replies to his texts... it was all building up in his chest and the dam was pretty close to bursting. especially now as his mom was lovingly stroking his cheek as she checked in with him. how embarassing. rio wouldn't see him cry, not right now. he closed his eyes and willed the tears away, for her sake.
miraculously, 42's voice didn't crack or waver when he said, "yeah. yeah, i miss 'im."
rio crooned something saccharine in spanish and placed a kiss on her son's forehead. she saw right through his cold tough guy act, as expected. with how much of a mama's boy 42 was, it would've been impossible not to. they spent way too much time together for her to miss how he dragged his feet getting ready for school in the mornings, how he's been skipping martial arts and basketball practice more often lately, and how unenthusiastic he's been in general.
rio chuckles as she lays her cheek on 42's forehead for a second before sitting back up. "ay, bendito. 42, you know your brother is just down a few blocks from here. why don't you go visit him soon?"
42 shuffles under the covers. he's unsure if he should even admit this, but he proceeds anyways. "uhm. he's not answering my texts lately, so." he feels strangely guilty about this, like he just snitched on his twin somehow even though he has no reason to suspect that at all.
rio sighs and looks off into the distance, bracing herself for what she's about to say. she looks back down. "yeah. i know. he doesn't answer mine, either. i was hoping he was talking to you, but... well. "
something in 42 stirs a bit. "i bet he thinks he's in some fancy private school, around rich kids, now he's too good for us," it's a weak attempt at a joke, but rio smiles down at him anyways.
"don't worry. the second he gets home this weekend, he's on house arrest. okay? he's gonna be chained to you the whoooole time. and i'm keepin' watch."
it's not much, but 42 still takes that little bit of hope and holds it gently in his mind.
"the second he walks through that door, i'm tackling him. i don't care." 42 smiles at the thought.
rio laughs, kisses his forehead again and stands up. "dinner is almost ready, by the way." she gives him a look. "you better eat with me tonight, because your brother is at school and your dad is doing overtime tonight. okay? okay."
42 sighs deeply to wake himself up a bit more as he sits up and scratches at his durag. "yeah, yeah. 'm comin', ma!"
¹ "but what is going on with you, papí?" (papí being a common term of affection for a boy in spanish, it doesn't always mean "dad" lol)
² "if you're not sick, then what is it?"
☆ until they get "too old" for halloween, the morales twins ALWAYS wear matching costumes. every year. every single year, no matter what. what they usually end up wearing changes every year and they aaaaaalways argue over it, of course. notable costumes so far: batman and superman (age 13), two ninja turtles (age 9) (im thinking mikey and donatello bc of personality but lbr rio most likely forbade either of them to be leonardo bc the twins would deadass get into a fist fight over it), tom and jerry (age 2), mario and luigi (age 7), woody and buzz (age 5), peter pan and captain hook (age 10), and-- rio's favorite-- thing 1 and thing 2 (age 4)
☆ 42 was surprisingly always very popular with the girls at school. in middle school, 1610 was the geeky one with braces and acne. 42 got off relatively easy in that regard and as a result was labeled "a heartbreaker" from the jump, which annoyed him. he has no interest in dating whatsoever and swore to never get into a relationship before graduating high school. he's got his mom and brother to take care of and he's going places after high school, damnit! 1610 on the other hand is a huge romantic and has a crush on a new person almost every year of school, easily
☆ the literal second 1610 set foot in the house after his spider bite, 42 was all over him asking a million questions since they both have that supernatural twintuition, and 42 sussed him out immediately. 1610 obviously had to come clean and tell his brother he was spiderman just like he told ganke, otherwise he was never gonna be able to change into his spider suit at home (plus they share a room, so. there's that)
1610 didn't even get to close their bedroom door all the way before his twin leaped up from his own bed and stalked over.
"óye, bro. what's up? what happened at visions?" 42 circled his brother, squinty-eyed in the exact same way their mom is when she's suspicious. 1610 dropped his bag next to his bed and plopped down on his sheets, trying to put some distance between them.
"uhhhh what're you talkin' about?" he tries casually, and immediately regrets it.
"uhhhhh what're you talkin' about?" 42 mocks. "don't play dumb with me. you KNOW what i'm talkin' about, stupid. first, you answer, like, none of my texts ever. then dad comes home sayin' you never let him talk face-to-face when he visited you a couple days ago. mamí has been texting and calling you nonstop, no answer either. you are a brand new person now, huh? qué te pasa, yo?"
1610 hunched his shoulders as he got up and slumped over to his desk. he was quietly weighing his options, nervously rearranging papers and sketches on the wooden table, wondering how he was going to break it to his brother that he was--
"lemme guess. you have superpowers now," 42 says easily. he crosses his arms triumphantly when big round amber eyes suddenly turn up to his face.
1610 searches his face for any hint of a joke. no... no way. did his brother just...?
"you're playin' with me. no way. how did you--?"
42's eyes widen. "wait, are you being deadass right now?" he threw his head back and crowed with laughter. "that was just a guess!"
1610 leaped forward and pushed his hand onto 42's mouth, shutting him up. "heeyyy hey hey hey hey shhhhh, man. damn, could you possibly be any louder? look," he took his twin by the shoulders and gave him a slight shake, lowering his voice to a near whisper. "mom and dad can never know anything about this. okay? anything. not a word, you understand?"
42 pushes his brother off. "ok-ay man, cool it. i promise. we can shake on it, even."
wordlessly, they did their super secret handshake they came up with and perfected in the 4th grade in lieu of hooking their pinkies together. it was the morales shake, a move that binds them to secrecy and keeping promises til death. this was serious business. 1610 relaxes a bit once they're done.
"... okay. and i mean it, pencil braids. if you even breathe a word about this, or even think about--!"
"if you don't just tell me already, goddamn."
with a meaningful look thrown at his brother's way, 1610 raises an arm silently. 42 looks back expectantly.
1610 shoots a web up. he jumps up, using the web as a bungee rope to help him flip and land feet-first onto the ceiling. once his sneakers touch their ceiling, he stands up... upside-down. he stares at his brother and his brother stares back, mouth agape.
"niiiiiiice," 42 leans back and grins up at his twin brother, spiderman.
☆ 1610 is glad he has someone besides ganke to talk to about spiderman stuff, though. his brother listens way more attentively than his roommate anyways, and even tries to help sometimes esp when 1610 needs a quick distraction so he can switch from spiderman back into his regular clothes before the parents notice
☆ 42 is surprisingly cool abt his twin bro being spiderman, actually. even when they're texting 42 is careful not to imply 1610 is spiderman, and often calls stuff in to the police station if 1610 webs anyone up and lets him know. he also gets very good at bandaging up wounds quickly
☆ 42 is a hardass on the outside and contains his emotions much better than his twin, but he's kinda different around his family, since he loves them a lot. he jokes around a lot with them, esp around 1610. they also love pranking their parents, and are p creative at coming up with ways to make everyone laugh
☆ i personally picture 42's personality being sort of like huey's from the boondocks, especially around other adults. he becomes withdrawn and speaks very clearly and directly, and is very shy around strangers. some ppl mistake that as him having an attitude problem but his friends and family know better. only difference between huey and 42 is that 42 isn't nearly as woke lmfao
☆ meanwhile, 1610 becomes a motormouth around strangers and is quick to hug and kiss random family members at family reunions. as a lil kid, he'd always be the one up at the counter ordering for the both of them and chatting with the cashiers, or bus drivers, or whoever. as he gets older and used to the spiderman thing, he chats and jokes with randoms a lil less. he has to save the good material for when the mask is on
☆ 42 is a better writer than he is an artist, actually. he has notebooks filled with poetry and lyrics he scribbles down on post-it notes just to stick them in there for safekeeping. he's also been working on a sci-fi story since he was in 6th grade in absolute secrecy; he doesn't want a single soul to see it. he'd be mortified if anyone saw the nerdy shit he comes up with
☆ even tho 1610 has never fought anyone or been scrappy with anyone else, he's very good at wrestling and dodging punches thanks to his brother.
☆ 42 is the more fashion-inclined twin, even tho they're both sneakerheads. 42 just pays more attention to accessories, the fit of his clothing, how to pair the right shoes with the right jacket. 1610 throws on anything comfortable and calls it a day, and it gets even worse after he becomes spiderman. 42 clowns his brother SO HARD after he finds him wearing yellow sweatpants with an oversized red adidas hoodie and a green puffer jacket once (it was when 1610 came home from fighting a shapeshifting lizard that tried to take over cypress hills. the sweatpants were on backwards)
☆ 1610's sense of humor is geeky and he always tries too hard with his quips and jokes. he usually gets "secondhand embarrassment" chuckles from ppl. 42's style of comedy is a mix of dry humor and unintentionally being funny. this dude will say something clever with the straightest face ever and have the ENTIRE room in stitches without even meaning to
☆ just to nail home how different they are, even tho they share a room, you can tell EXACTLY which half of their room begins and ends. 1610's half is cluttered, vibrant, covered in posters and action figures, collages and trinkets on every available surface. 42's is as clean as a hospital room, and he ALWAYS makes his bed every morning. 42 has a poster or 2 hung up but he's not much for decorating in general. he's more into alphabetizing his bookshelf and looking for more efficient storage to put under his bed
☆ when jeff looks at his sons, he sees aaron and himself and sometimes it scares him. when the boys were around 12 (the Evil Year) he made SURE to sign them up for camp trips that summer and keep them close together as much as possible. he hates to see his boys drift apart at all and is the 1st one to call it out if he sees it. he just doesn't want his boys to end up like he and his brother did…
☆ … and then other times? it genuinely makes him feel a combination of irritation and also fondness bc sometimes 1610 and 42 really really remind him of aaron and himself, esp when they were young. ESPECIALLY when they argue. in every playful slap on the shoulder, every arbitrary competition started out of nowhere, every sleepy brother slowly sliding onto the other's shoulder during nighttime car rides, he sees it. he sees them, and then he sees his past. and with every little difference between the boys slowly cracking open like a chasm with each passing day, sometimes he thinks he can even see his future.
☆ 42 is cool or whatever but i also hc he's kinda… weird sometimes. it gets worse when his twin bro goes off to visions, he keeps staring at walls while sitting in dark rooms and eating at weird hours of the day. rio caught him fast asleep practically hanging off the window sill one night, and another time jeff found him having an entire conversation with a brick wall once while on patrol. 42 refuses to answer any questions
☆ after 1610 gets into visions, becomes spiderman, tells his parents abt his plans to go to princeton, etc... 42 eventually starts feeling a type of way (a jealous way…) their parents also seem to pay attention to 1610 more whenever he's home just to add insult to injury. he knows he's not supposed to, but he often finds himself thinking about the prowler gloves and schematics aaron left behind. he managed to grab them and hide them in a gym bag one day while helping his parents clear out aaron's apartment. the tech currently lives under his bed…
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dballzposting · 2 months
Text
There's really no plainer way to put it but that Goku's love language is fighting.
As in, that's how he communicates, that's how he expresses himself, that's how he comes to understand, that's how he bonds; the pattern of empassioned push-into and push-back. The resistance and deflection, the purposeful direction, the pinpoint strikes.
It's really not a tug-and-pull yin-and-yang dance between two people, as much as it is that each party is BOTH yin and yang. They enter with their own completed prerogatives, and they have a physical argument to test their stance. Each party has their choice of tactic, their own rhythm of when to roll aside and when to spin and strike back and when to dig their heels in and block.
It's because he's a Saiyan and also because of his upbringing. He grew up with the rhythm of the wilderness, where everything is self-defending and self-righteous; and where everything communicates through subtle fights, those inter-organismic interactions, all utilizing the basic moves of offense, defense, or avoidance.
Different animals utilize different techniques, habits, forces of nature; they fall in different niches in the environment. The rabbit does not want to be preyed on, but if he is caught, he is able to accept this inevitability of present reality with grace; the tiger does not want to be caught, and if he is, he'll size you up and make sure you're worth it before rolling over.
It's driven by instinct and biology, but from Goku's budding perspective, it was no different from how warriors learn and adapt and have the volition to utilize different techniques.
The only other person he knew was his Grandfather, who was one of the best martial artists on Earth at the time, and thus: Goku's early bonding behaviors were ruled by the training he did with his grandpa. This also informed his general understanding of the world at large.
Once Goku started on his epic swag adventure and met new people, he had the capacity to love them all, and he continues to fight for them. But the way he loves his friends is maybe not what people have in their head when they think of deep bonding. He loves them, in a sturdy and firm way, in a "of course I do" way, as upfront and practical as any other observation of the natural world.
It's not deep, raw, or passionate; it's not vulnerable, it's not sustaining, it's not supporting; it's not messy or emotional, it's not blood-red or heart-pink ... Goku just stands with a perfectly straight spine, perfectly secure, and he loves his friends, that's all there is to it! He has fun with them, he enjoys their company, he worries for their well-being ... And he will easily go years and years without ever seeing them. When he does see them, he just picks up where they left off like no time had passed at all.
My point is that Goku doesn't NEED his friends, he does not need to see them or to be with them or to feel their support. You know how humans are social animals and need to interact with others in order to stay healthy and functioning; and you know how Goku isn't a human!
He's a Saiyan, so it's by nature, but it also very much has to do with his lived isolation during his formative years. His roots of stability are in boundless nature, the art of fighting, and confidence in his own body; not in the presence of a community.
When he DOES bond deep with people, as in connect on an intimate level, it's in the context of fighting. That's how he understands them and makes himself understood! Through the language of technique, through the specific combinations of offense, defense, and avoidance.
He routinely makes friends with people whom he originally fights as an opposing party, such as the case with Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Yajirobe, Vegeta ... And he makes a habit out of mercy and requesting teamwork with everyone he fights.
He doesn't take fight to be only an aggressive thing, and he takes to friendly sparring or methodical training really well - thinking very fondly of Master Roshi, Master Korin, Popo, King Kai - and having a DELIGHTFUL time with Krillin when they trained close in their younger days.
Of course, fighting CAN be a purely angry, aggressive thing. But he's always ready to let it Not Be, too. Except in the cases of righteous, seething anger (his battles with the biggest bads who have done much to hurt his friends, planet, and order of the universe), Goku loves it when an opponent wants to hang around and fight again.
It's like how predator animals play with each other by tussling for fun. It's not just when in the pursuit of food do those animals utilize predator behaviors, but it's ALL the time, because they have been endowed by nature to be Of A Certain Make & Model because it helps them to survive, and it's just who they are always. They notice certain things, make certain things out to be important, they are intrigued by certain things, they like to move in certain ways - it's everything about all of them that puts them in their ecological niche.
EXAMPLE: Think about how cats are wired to recognize the visual pattern of a snake and to respond quickly, and that's why they sometimes swat at bananas. Or how they hiss, a behavior that emulates the sound of a snake, but they don't know that, they just get angry and hiss. Or how their eyes and brain are designed to notice and follow Movement, and they find this A.) Important and B.) Intriguing; they often orient toward it. This intrigue is selected for because the movement could be food, but, to the lived experience of the animal, it's also just fun. Cats will play with inanimate objects and rodents all the same.
For comparison, non-predatory birds are wired to find importance in things like color and size and shape when it comes to finding food - and they AVOID movement, taking flight away from rather than orienting toward it like the cat.
Another detail about predatory animals: when hunting, they require the element of resistance to stimulate their predatory instincts. This has the advantage of steering the animal away from already-dead-and-possibly-contaminated prey, and toward still-alive-and-delicious prey. This is why the freeze response works in deterring predators; because when the prey isn't moving and fighting back, the predator doesn't feel stimulated enough to hunt. Who knows what animals feel, but the lived experience may be a sort of disgust or repulsion; a definitive avoidance.
At any rate, cats find a lack of movement and a lack of resistance Boring, which is why your cat loves to chase the string toy you just yanked away from her, and why she gets bored when you stop.
My ultimate point is that that's what Goku is like, as a Saiyan, as a mountain boy, as himself.
It's no surprise that his ONLY goal in life is fight. So it's not bizarre to think that through this is how he comprehends and connects with others.
Since this is the case: I honestly think, that on some level, he has loved every opponent he has ever faced. Even Freeza, who introduced him to the purest and most earnest form of righteous rage - Goku hated him more than he had ever hated anybody; but I think that he still loved him as the living, fighting being he was. It's an undercurrent of love that comes with the territory whenever Goku fights, whenever his body gets to move and express himself in that way; and that LOVE I think is the source of his strength. Fighting for anger or other corrosive emotions dirty your soul in the long-term. Goku loves to fight, and has loved deeply every opponent, even if only at the most basic and required level - but he loved, and he loves, and that's why he's the greatest. It's an expansive, nurturing, positive force that he brings into the world.
He loved his grandfather. He loves Roshi and Krillin and all the rest. He loves his sons, and he bonds with them when he trains them, because it's through this that he comes to understand their deepest ways; and he's honored to do so, and he's proud of them beyond measure.
Chichi has long since been out of the ring, but I think that the most vivid memories that Goku has of her are when she is yanking on his ear or slapping him for his ignorance. Like how the cat attaches importance to patterns of movement, Goku attaches importance to such physical engagement; and he retains those impressions for longer.
What he has with Vegeta is the realest shit right down to their bones and shared Saiyan physiology, and it's imperative that they continue to fight each other for forever.
So I guess my point is that if you want to bond with Goku: you'll have to come at him a bit, and offer meaningful contact, and when he comes at you, never roll over like a possum - actively resist, dodge, and strike back.
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misshoneyimhome · 6 months
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Don’t know if you’re taking requests or ideas but I had a Willy one I can’t get out of my head🫠
You work for the Leafs as their media manager and you and Willy have made a really great friendship (with feelings definitely there, but boundaries set due to not wanting to jeopardize your job) and you are always hanging at his place but on a roadie he starts to think you and Woll are getting close and he distances himself to give you space (as passive Swedish boys do) because you’re closer in age and he doesn’t want you to know he’s jealous. When you get back to Toronto you do your usual thing going to his place to debrief the trip and he tries to ask you questions about the friendship with Joe while escaping to the shower to get more space and you realize what’s up and tell him, “you can have anything you want from me, all you have to do is ask…” and follow him into the bedroom..
-Darling I love your way of thinking! I have no idea if this is anywhere near what you thought of (and if you wanted the smutty part as well...), but it’s what came to my mind ❤️ If not, please let me know 😉 Hell, I just love jealous!Willy anytime… keep’em coming ❤️
・✶ 。゚
“Want you to be mine…”
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**
"Alright, everyone! That's a wrap," your smile beamed as you halted the recording. "Thank you so much for your time," you expressed with excitement, grateful that some players had agreed to join in for a TikTok session for your social media.
And as Auston and Mitch headed back to practice, Willy, in his usual fashion, couldn't resist throwing a cheeky remark your way.
"How did I do?" he asked, a satisfied smirk on his handsome Swedish face.
"Well, let's just say it's a good thing you stuck with hockey instead of pursuing a career in acting," you playfully teased your friend, intentionally challenging that confident smile of his.
"Ouch, right in the feels, y/n/n," Willy exaggerated, placing a hand over his chest as he came a little closer.
You couldn’t help but chuckle at his playful antics, one of the many things you appreciated about him. And your banter, filled with playful comebacks, was among the many things he enjoyed about you.
"Just be glad you've got a handsome face and talent for this sport, baby," you offered a cheeky wink. And suddenly, you both realised the proximity between you.
However, it wasn't entirely unusual for the two of you. Over the past year or two, a strong friendship had developed, but it had always remained just that – a friendship. Your professional role as the team's media manager demanded a certain distance from the players, so the banter had always been kept at a friendly level.
Yet, you couldn't help but smile every time he did, and laughter echoed through the halls whenever he was around.
However, the fleeting moment was quickly interrupted by your co-worker’s coughing, prompting both of you to take a subtle step back. And though still wearing smiles, Willy jokingly bowed and left the room to resume his training.
Facing your co-worker, you were met with raised eyebrows and a rather judgmental expression.
"Oh, unclench," you smirked. "We're just good friends."
Your naturally flirtatious demeanour had often led your co-workers to believe you were flirting with every player. However, it was simply your way of lightening the mood and bringing some positive energy to the workplace.
"Mmm hmm," was the simple response before you turned your attention back to work, looking up to see the next player entering.
"Hey, where do you want me?" Joseph Woll spoke in his deep, charming voice, happily offering his assistance as well.
"Well, that depends if you mean in here or somewhere else," you said clearly as joke. But despite Joe’s chuckle, your co-worker’s face showed nothing but lack of amusement. And so, you cleared your throat, and you put on your professional face once more.
**
"Honestly, I don't think she likes me very much," you spoke from your perch on the kitchen counter, casually observing as Willy unpacked the take-out.
It was after training, and you were winding down after a work-horse day, so dinner at his place had become somewhat of a routine - a sanctuary where you could be friends without anyone raising eyebrows about your relationship and the professional distance you were meant to maintain.
"Well, maybe she's just jealous," William offered a response with a smile, busying himself by collecting plates from the cupboard. "You know, you get along with everyone on the team, and she doesn't. So maybe she's just a little jealous."
"Perhaps. I guess I can just tone it down a bit," you sighed, rolling your eyes a bit as you hopped off the counter and joined him in setting the coffee table for tonight's dinner.
"Oh no, all the guys love your energy! She just needs to calm down, and maybe get laid or something."
"Don't we all," you cheekily responded, almost reflexively, once again speaking before you thought. The room fell into a brief moment of silence, filled only by William's chuckle and the unspoken understanding shared between close friends.
"It's these kinds of comments that get me into trouble, isn't it?" you remarked.
"Yeah, probably," Willy agreed.
***
And just a few days later, the team hit the road for a about a week with three away games. 
You were all gathered on a flight out, and while chatting casually with the guys, Willy's eyes seemed to follow you, like a watchful golden retriever guarding its favourite toy.
Everything seemed to be as normal until after the first game when he noticed something different. You and Woll had a lengthy chat following the game, which appeared to extend beyond work and Tik-Tok videos. And then he noticed you again on the following day, on the way to the next city, where you and Woll would talk even more. The topic remained unknown to him, but your infectious laughter echoed throughout.
And while, standing in the hallway after all the media work following the second game, Willy overheard fragments of your conversation with the goalie.
"Well, Joe, you know what they say: if you want to date a player, might as well date a goalie - that’s a keeper."
Woll couldn't contain his amusement of your playful remark, and to William, it felt like the two of you had come to share a rather unique connection. Even discussing dating.
In a way, it all made sense. Woll was a few years younger than Willy, and you were around his age. So, it wasn't too surprising that you might have a mutual interest to build a friendship.
But for the first time, William felt a pang of uncertainty. For the past couple of years, you hadn't been seeing anyone else, given your work demanded all your time and energy. Which to Willy's benefit meant, that you spent most of your time either at the arena, on the road with the team, or at his place. But now, all of that could change.
So, like any mid-twenties guy facing uncertainty, he decided to give you space.
In fact, he didn't talk to you for the rest of the night. Nor did he engage in conversation the following day, or the day after besides the content you needed for the social media account. And whenever you tried to strike up a dialogue with him, he responded only in short answers.
In a way, you found yourself slightly baffled.
Never before had William acted so strangely around you. However, attributing it to the loss in the final game, you decided to shake it off and return with enthusiasm, flashing a vibrant smile as you took a seat next to him on the plane, as you were on your way back to Toronto. 
"So, dinner at your place?" you asked, lowering your tone to keep the conversation private.
And William, ever the chill and calm personality, simply nodded. After all, you were still good friends, and he had no right to be jealous over your friendly bonding with the young goalie.
****
After everyone had said their farewells, and as they all went their separate ways, you and William discreetly made your way to his car, followed by an unusually silent car ride. Eventually, you picked up some dinner from Sugo's to take back to his place.
Once settled on the sofa, recapturing all the highs and lows from the road trip, William's thoughts took a different turn.
He had done his best to keep things as casual as possible, offering you space to avoid any appearance of intervening in your newfound friendship or showing even a hint of potential jealousy.
But the lingering thoughts urged him to be a bit nosy and ask you about Woll.
"So, you and Joe, huh?"
"What do you mean, me and Joe?" You chuckled lightly.
"It's just... You seem to be rather close lately..."
"Hmm, I guess. He's a sweet guy, I mean, he just seems nice, and we have good talks."
William simply nodded.
"Willy, why the sudden interest in Joe's and my friendship?"
"Hm, I don't know," he shrugged. "I just want to know, you know, what you're up to – and if you're having fun..."
"You want to know if I'm having fun? With Woll?" You raised an eyebrow. 
"No, that's not what I mean!"
"Then what do you mean? You think we're dating – is that it?"
"No, I just want to know if he's being good to you..."
"Well, of course he's good to me... But why do you care that much?"
“It’s just... you don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand!”
“I can’t…”
“Honestly, Willy! Juts talk to me…”
"I want… I want you to… - never mind… I’m gonna go and take a shower… you can just… relax while waiting,” he said, getting up from the couch and leaving you alone with your bewildered thoughts.
‘Why was he acting like that?’
And as you cleared the table and took care of the trash in the kitchen, suddenly the puzzle pieces started falling into place. William acting weird, his sudden distancing, and his questions about you and Woll.
'Oh...'
So with soft steps, you made your way towards the bedroom where Willy had just undressed, only the towel covering around his waist, leaving nothing to the imagination.
“Willy,” you spoke, prompting him to look at you, as you took steps forward, slowly coming close to his face. “You can have anything you want from me; all you have to do is ask…”
And at first, he remained speechless. The wheels were turning in his head, his mouth yearning to speak. However, all he could do was wrap his arms around you, pulling you in closely and closing the gap between your lips.
It marked your first kiss, and it was nothing short of amazing.
Your lips fit perfectly together, hands exploring every piece of skin possible, and it felt as if all the withheld emotions were finally unleashed.
Breaking the kiss, he whispered tenderly, “I want you to be mine…” 
105 notes · View notes
blamemma · 8 months
Note
miss blamemma, please could you detail what you think happened between michael and daniel for the rest of us that are obsessed with the drama?!
i truly wish i could just upload the voicenotes i've sent to the besties today about this because that would be SO much easier but ok here we go....
i don't think there is one cataclysmic event that led them to fall out, i think it's an amalgamation of a couple of things.
privacy and money; michael loves popularity, loves money, loves business, loves social media, montesises his drivers (he's doing that now with his reels of yuki as well). there has to come a point, for me, where that crosses the boundaries of your role as a trainer. as a trainer, you have to be there for your driver, your driver is your number one priority. if that driver no longer feels they can trust you, then you are not doing your job. michael going on multiple podcasts and dropping tidbits about daniel's life and training and difficulties here and there is not a good look, and i think of the most telling is that testosterone article. michael worked with daniel for the last 5 years so people are going to presume that it is about daniel and on the back of that i saw multiple articles that were headlined something along the fucked up lines of "daniel ricciardo's trainer reveals he broke sex ban with hot young girlfriend heidi berger" (here & here and there are definitely more examples!) and daniel is a relatively private guy about his relationship so having that blasted everywhere cause ur ex-trainer talked about male hormones?? and then yeah u have that podcast thing today....
i have no proof, but i truly believe that michael wanted daniel to take the haas or williams seat so that he (michael) could stay in f1 because again, being in this prestigious sports gets him followers and engagement = money. therefore, when daniel went to him for advice michael may not have been open and willing to daniel's idea of a sabbatical, because it didn't really mean employment for michael (to caveat here, not having job security is a very daunting thing, and i am not saying michael is wrong for worrying about this, however, michael is paid and contracted by daniel and i dont think daniel would have been paying him a cheap wage these past 5 years)
i think daniel has had the time to step away from mclaren, process what happened there, enter red bull again and see how they manage their drivers, move to alpha tauri and see how they manage and speak about their drivers and then truly assess and process the year that last year was. whether you believe michael was foundational in daniel's issues last year or not, he was in control of his diet and exercise regime and his general health and we can all clearly see that deteriorated over the mclaren period and it may be daniel has now stepped away, assessed, talked to some fellow drivers like max (who then stuck up for him in that press conference when michael was brought up, hence why i think he spoke to max about) and how they get on with their trainers and thought hmmmm michael wasn't like that
other factors include michael being very close and friendly with mclaren engineers and social media people (again, valid, you want to get on with the people you work with, but again, your priority should be daniel especially in a tumultuous team like that!) & michael constantly saying he wanted to bigger than daniel, even to the point he started training his neck so that he could say he had a bigger neck than daniel....weird behaviour when you're meant to be motivating ur driver, not ultimately trying to beat them when they're already down in the dumps???
this is genuinely all conjecture and theories and i have no evidence for any of the shit i am spouting here but i am just going on the info we have and the things we have seen and trying to connect dots....
158 notes · View notes
kzuhasgf · 9 months
Text
in between the lines
pairing — lily morrow x 7th member!reader
you and lily are THE chaotic besties. you can't be seen without each other and are like peas in a pod. what happens when there's a realization?
tags — f!reader (ethnicity friendly), idol!au genre — crack, fluff, ROMANCE (this is sickeningly sweet) word count — 4,840
notes — there's two curse words, reader is ’03 and knows how to cook, I had FUN with this one (I hope you enjoy it too), I WON'T SAY ANY SPOILERS!!
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when you became a trainee at jyp, things were fun and exciting, meeting people like you, taking up new experiences, and working hard to fulfill your dream of becoming one of the most talented idols.
of course, that was all enjoyment at first.
trainee life is tiring and excruciating. for one, it takes a lot of time and effort. most of the time, years. it's your top priority to improve, so you must manage training, studying, eating, socializing, sleeping, and taking care of yourself all at once.
sometimes, it was too overwhelming for you.
that is because you had to do all of that, and there was always something to worry about. one second, you would rejoice about passing your monthly evaluation and then hear that your vocals aren't half as good as others who have been here.
when you ace that one challenging choreography your coach assigned to you, yet still compared to one of your seniors.
trainee life was tiring, demeaning, and excruciating.
not until you met lily.
you still remember the first time you saw her, walking into the wrong practice room.
realizing you were in the wrong room, you bowed and apologized profusely, her warmly saying that it was okay and there was nothing to worry about.
the second you made eye contact, something sparked, and that was something you could never describe.
you hadn't interacted with her that much, her being in the more skilled classes of the trainee groups. she was very well known and had been there before you by a long run, so finally seeing her in person made you curious.
"I'm sorry, excuse me,"
"but you're lily, right? I've heard a lot about you."
"oh!" she looked at you wide-eyed, "yes, I am lily. and only good things, I hope." she chuckled nervously, and you gave her a reassuring smile.
"of course. it's all good things,"
you checked your watch and frowned after seeing the minutes that passed. you had practice to get to and didn't want to get scolded by your teacher, so you couldn't stay for so long.
"I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but I have to go. it's nice to meet you, I hope to see you again!"
"it's okay! see you wherever!" she smiled, and when you left, her eyes stayed on where your figure was far too long than she expected.
and guess what? "see you wherever," you did.
at least the second time you met.
this time, she stumbled upon you alone, in another practice room, at ten pm, on the floor.
you didn't hear her enter, so you lay there, unaware she was in the room. she recognized you by your appearance and by your previous interaction with her. by now, she had forgotten whatever she was planning and instead looked at you in concern.
"are you okay?" you opened your eyes, startled to see her doe ones stare at you from above.
you screamed, "aah!! oh. lily? hey, lily!"
"oh my god! don't scream like that again. it made me scream, too!" she put her hand on her chest.
"I'm sorry!" you said, getting up, your eyes widening as you saw her more clearly now and not be shadowed by herself.
"oh my god, lily."
"why? what's wrong?"
she looked gorgeous.
"wait, why are you even here? it's late, you shouldn't be practicing!" she asked and scolded you, her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed.
"oh, don't worry, I wasn't training. I was only lying on the floor, questioning things in my life," you answered her honestly, catching her off guard.
"oh. then, what were you thinking about?"
"hmm... well, I was thinking of important things to ones that weren't. like how my family is doing, if I'm good enough to be an idol, what song I should listen to before I sleep, or what I should eat tomorrow. all random stuff." you shrugged your shoulders, spacing out and looking at a wall.
"hey, what is this that I'm hearing?!"
you looked at her in surprise.
"you're good enough to be an idol. more than enough, actually. I even heard from other trainees that you're our new ace. that's not something you hear every day! I got interested in you."
your eyes lit up visibly.
"oh, wait, really? you got interested in me too?"
"too?" she questioned you.
"I, wait—"
"it's okay, y/n." she laughed, throwing her head back, smiling up to her eyes. your heart raced.
"you're so cute."
you can't stop yourself from staring.
"what you said a while ago about not knowing what song you wanted to listen to at night,"
she added, "I have a few songs in mind. do you want me to play it for you?" after nodding, she quickly walked to where the TV was, searching on youtube and playing an upbeat song.
she walked back to you with her brow raised, and she gave you a small smile, reaching her hand out to you.
you thought, if she looked this good with a messy bun and baggy clothes, how would she look when dressed up flawlessly?
"do you wanna sing for a bit? it's nothing intense, only a couple of songs."
your lips parted, eager to give her an answer—
"and, maybe after, I can show you some of the snacks I eat at the cafeteria."
your whole world stopped.
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you and lily couldn't ever seem to be apart.
after that night, you both became closer. in some way, it was inevitable. you two just seemed to match each other so well.
it was routine for both of you to eat meals together, practice together, hang out and go places, and be at each other's dorms.
you both were best friends.
the best of friends.
chaotic ones, at that.
she brightened up your days the same way you did with hers. when you needed a should to cry on, she was always there, and you did the same for her, too.
lily always managed to bring you up on your worst days.
you often didn't think when she was around. it was as if your mind went blank, and all you could think about was her. you didn't care what other people thought as long as you both had fun.
you both did what your hearts desired, regardless of who or what was there.
that explains why you were so chaotic together.
so when you two were announced to be part of the pre-debut lineup and upcoming group of jyp, you both screamed and jumped in happiness.
hearing the news along with the other girls of jypn, you turned to her and screamed, holding her hands in joy.
"OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD, LILY, WE DID IT. WE MADE IT!!" screaming, you started hugging her, jumping.
still in shock, lily gave you the biggest smile she could muster and started screaming and jumping with you, holding your hands tighter.
"OH MY GOD, Y/N, YES, WE DID IT!"
the announcer looked at you both questioningly while the girls could only look away in embarrassment.
"don't mind them, please." haewon smiled at them apologetically.
"o...kay. alright then. that's all for today, thank you. and congratulations. you may celebrate." they said and quickly left.
you and lily were so occupied that it took you a minute before noticing the announcer was gone. you both started giggling and pointing at each other, leaving the others confused. bae couldn't handle your weirdness and called you two out.
"just to let you guys know, you're both freaks." haewon burst out in laughter, clutching her stomach. you poked your tongue out at her, and lily doubled up in laughter.
"it's okay, lily. they're just jealous of our super glue-bonded relationship."
"super glue-bonded?!" lily exclaimed and looked at you with wide eyes, and you laughed heartily, bringing her closer and patting her back.
"you guys are so entertaining." kyujin stared at you both in astonishment.
"okay now, don't even try looking at them." haewon covered kyujin's eyes, turning her away and making her whine.
"why, unnie?!"
"I'm doing this to protect you!"
you scoffed and crossed your arms as you looked at her, fake disgust. "what an asshole, honestly," you said quietly enough, only for lily to hear. you shook your head as your best friend snorted and covered her mouth, trying to hide her laughter.
you grinned widely, proud.
you loved adored seeing her this happy.
"trying to hide her laughter," but ultimately failing.
but you didn't mind. as long as you got to see your best friend like this.
"she... she called you an asshole!"
your jaw fell in surprise.
"LILY—?!"
okay, maybe you did mind.
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nmixx had been around for more than a year now, and you were all playing a folk tale mafia game, trying to find who the nine-tailed fox was.
the goal of this game was actually the least of your worries. you were trying to distract yourself from what close proximity you had with lily.
and you rather eat high-quality food than focus on what's happening (except for the girl you were beside).
everyone started telling their roles, and you lightly smiled when it was lily's turn.
"I'm... a subject.
"what?" you mumbled to her in surprise, your mouth full of food.
"hey, don't eat with your mouth full," she frowned and when you finished chewing, she took a tissue and wiped your mouth, leaning closer to you.
"I— thank you," you said quietly, looking down.
your heart ached. and you didn't know if it was in a good or bad way.
"yah, you're the only one who hasn't said anything about your role yet," haewon said.
"yeah, and she's being super quiet. that isn't normal!" jiwoo pointed at you in accusation.
"hey, what the fuck? I haven't even checked my bowl yet!" you threw your arms out in exasperation.
"language," haewon said and looked at you pointedly.
"sorry." you apologized quickly.
"oh my god, unnie, are you that hungry? your bowl's almost half finished!" jiwoo laughed, smacking jinni on the back, who groaned, and you huffed, pouting in response.
"or maybe the food's just that good," lily countered, crossing her arms and looking at jiwoo.
"oh, aren't you so cute?" lily cooed and squished your cheeks, your pout instantly fading away.
"thank you, lily," you said with a small smile, chuckling and holding her hand on your cheek.
she did nothing but look at you with wide eyes.
after your leader's nagging, you finally relented, moving the rice left in your bowl aside, eyebrows raising at the role given to you.
"I'm... a doctor."
"what?!" the maknae almost screamed in surprise.
"y/n!! you're not supposed to say that!" lily panickedly waved her arms at you.
"oh, huh?" you said dumbfoundedly, and the girls began laughing. you, scratching the back of your neck, decided to join along.
you lied. you weren't a doctor, just a regular citizen.
but, you thought, if you tricked them into killing you, you could watch the game as an observer (not to tell lily answers) and eat as much food as you wanted. the plan was good in your eyes!
adding to that, you were also... decent in acting.
and so, the plan commenced.
the nine-tailed fox was now going to choose who to kill.
everyone closed their eyes, and after waiting, it was revealed...
that you were chosen to be killed.
"I'M A CITIZEN!! GET TRICKED, IDIOTS," you yelled, clapping and laughing at everyone. the staff began laughing, finding it amusing.
the girls could only stare in disbelief as you grabbed your bowl and showed them you were a citizen.
"boo hoo, you killed an innocent!"
you smiled happily and got a spoon, taking food out of the pan.
"y/n... did you really just," lily looked at you expectantly, already knowing what you did.
"shh, lily, they don't need to know." you whispered and winked at her, putting your finger on her lips, her mouth dropping in shock.
she's blushing.
"you know, unnie, if you're killed, you can't eat the food." bae teased, poking your side.
"okay." you shrugged, continuing to eat.
you blinked.
"WAIT, WHAT?!"
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you and the girls were preparing for your "love me like this" comeback, filming different takes for your stage practice.
everything seemed to be in order. you all were singing perfectly and managed to perform flawlessly. it was the same with your dance moves and stage presence.
it only took three hours because haewon wanted you all to ace it.
when everyone decided to rest, you drank water and lay on the floor, eyes closing.
you were exhausted, but you had fun. you often made faces when you weren't seen on camera, making the girls enjoy, too. you sat up, and from where you were, you could see them talking to each other, off in their own worlds.
except for lily.
she sat alone, hugging herself and resting her chin on her knees. you were concerned as you watched her, wondering what was wrong.
lily has been upset since yesterday morning. when you asked her, she didn't explain why and refused to tell you, not looking you in the eye.
even hugging her or holding her hand didn't work, which shocked you.
after your futile attempts, you decided to leave her be, telling her you were there for her whenever she needed you.
you thought you could both hang out and do things together as usual, but you guess she thought otherwise.
cause every time you approached her, she just walked away.
and that puzzled you to no end.
you didn't mind her not telling you what upset her because you wanted her to share it when she was ready. but her not even looking at you and walking in the opposite direction of where you were?
it made you think something went terribly wrong.
you stood up and went to her, an anxious look on your face. you really hoped she wouldn't walk away this time.
but, unfortunately for you, she noticed you walking toward her, and she quickly excused herself to the bathroom, her head down, shadowing her face.
you didn't even get the chance to get a word out.
haewon, who was nearby, looked at her worriedly, gathering her stuff before running out.
you could only look at her walking away, disheartened.
your members also knew something was up. they noticed lily's behavior and tried investigating it themselves but ended up with nothing. being the closest person to her, they had to ask you what was going on.
"I don't know, jinsol, I really don't know. she isn't telling me anything, and I'm just as left in the dark as you are."
bae looked at you in surprise. "oh? you don't know why?"
she recomposed herself, "all right. it's okay, unnie. thank you for helping. we hope lily unnie feels better soon."
you agreed, and after she walked back to jiwoo and kyujin, you slumped in your seat, frowning and sighing, feeling more lost than ever.
her reaction didn't help either.
the last time you couldn't talk to her for this long was when she had to return to her family for an emergency.
you didn't know what to do. you felt weird, and strangely enough, it felt empty without lily.
you didn't want to assume, but it seemed like she was avoiding you.
you weighed out the possibilities, and she might need some space, but she seemed to get along with everyone else just fine.
she even tried helping with the laundry last night but settled for washing the dishes instead.
she even went to haewon's room last night.
wait, she... went to haewon's room last night?
you couldn't linger in your thoughts any longer since someone sat beside you unexpectedly.
"…yoona?"
"y/n, I need to ask you something."
you and yoona were particularly close, so you didn't mind when she didn't use formalities. but because you were always with Lily, you never got to be as close to her as you had hoped.
"sure, yoona, what is it?"
"are you sure that lily unnie hasn't told you anything? like seriously, anything?"
you looked at her curiously. "well, from what I can recall, no. but I told her I would be there for her no matter what."
"hmm, okay. did you know that haewon unnie knows why lily unnie's acting this way?"
"wait, what?"
"mhm. I asked her, but she said it wasn't her place to say. I just wanted to let you know."
your stomach dropped.
"oh… okay. that's alright. thanks, yoona."
she nodded and hugged you, before walking away.
you sat there for god knows how long.
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"unnie!"
when you noticed the youngest leaning over to you, interested in what you were boiling, you turned like a deer caught in headlights. you sighed in relief when you realized the knife wasn't close to your fingers.
"kyu, you almost made me cut my finger."
her smile faded, and she quickly apologized. she started pouting, feeling bad.
"it's okay, baby. nothing happened, see?"
"still, I'm sorry!"
the urge to baby her was powerful. she'd probably whine over it, though.
even if you wanted to, you couldn't. you were chopping vegetables because it was your turn to cook dinner tonight.
whenever you did, kyujin had a habit of watching you because you were the only one in the group who knew how to cook meals, unlike the others who only knew how to cook ramen and eggs.
"what are you making, unnie?" she tilted her head, looking up at you.
you chuckled, "ah, well, I'm making sundubu-jjigae."
"ooh, don't make it too spicy, please!"
"of course! how cute our maknae is~"
you ended up babying her, anyways.
since kyujin didn't know how to cook, like the rest of nmixx, she ended up sitting on the couch and playing games on her phone. you wiped your hands and leaned against the counter, checking the time on your watch. it was past seven pm.
dinner would take about an hour to be ready, so all you had to do was wait. you and the girls wanted to sleep before nine o'clock because you had a performance at music bank the next day.
you looked up when you heard someone clear their throat near you. you felt a pang of fear when you saw that it was lily.
"lily."
you tried to hide your nervousness by leaning even more against the counter. lily appeared to feel the same way as she averted her gaze and fidgeted with her fingers.
kyujin, seeing the situation firsthand, had her jaw dropped as she walked away from the couch, making sure you noticed before hiding in the hallway to listen in on your conversation.
the awkward silence was deafening. you eventually relaxed and stared directly at lily. her eyes were filled with conflict. it's not unusual to see her acting this way cause it's something you've seen a million times.
you were just nervous and scared because you believed she was acting this way because of something you did.
"lily... how are you doing? are you okay?"
you said softly, giving her a welcoming smile. you glanced down and noticed her palms were sweaty from how she was repeatedly wiping her hands on her pajamas.
you raised your brow and looked at her, seeing her biting her bottom lip.
"I— y/n. can I talk to you?"
"we're talking, aren't we?"
"please."
she closed her eyes and took deep breaths in and out, putting her hand on her chest. you showed visible concern. lily was rarely ever this serious. you approached her and gently took her hand in yours.
"lily, what's wrong? I'm here to listen, please."
she stared into your eyes, and you could feel her trembling. she turned her head and covered her face, her other hand still holding yours.
"lily..."
"y/n, you know you're my best friend, right?" you hummed in response. She slowly turned back to you with pink cheeks.
"I tell you almost everything. anything and everything,"
she broke eye contact again, preferring to stare at the fridge rather than look into your eyes, swirling with emotion.
"but that's exactly why I couldn't tell you this."
"I'm sorry for not hanging out or talking to you like we always do. I just needed time to... process how I was feeling."
you nodded, listening to her intently.
"go ahead, lily."
she breathed in once more before letting the truth come out.
"look, y/n, I always thought of you as a best friend and best friend only.
"that is until I rambled to haewon about you, and she thought I had a big big crush on you."
"and that made me feel weird for days."
so that's why she wasn't talking to me?
"...I only started showing it when I saw you hanging out with yoona."
oh.
"wait, what?" 
"let me explain!"
she stepped closer, awkwardly holding your arms in an attempt to be firm.
"you always stayed by my side, and me only. it's weird, y/n. no, not that! I mean, um, how I feel about it." she said and whispered, "and how I feel with the things you do."
you cocked your head like a confused puppy.
"awe shit, I didn't hear that."
"what are you doing?" haewon walked over to kyujin with her eyebrows furrowed, hands on her hips after hearing the maknae curse.
"has y/n really been teaching you how to curse? I'm so! going to scold her—" she said almost too loudly, making kyujin panic.
"quiet, unnie! look."
she peeked her head out of the doorway, eyes widening when she saw you and lily close together.
"okay, y/n, I know this is already a mess, but please hear me out."
"when you hold or hug me, I feel so— I don't know. like my whole body goes warm. I can never stop it."
"when you grab my hand or do that little thing where you caress it when I'm nervous, I—I feel like I'm gonna explode!"
"when I feel insecure, and you compliment me to make me feel better, I feel like the only girl you see in this world."
"and that terrifies me, y/n. because you're... my best friend. I shouldn't be feeling this way for you."
"but I can't help it. I really can't help it."
"especially when I saw you and yoona being so close together."
"I didn't take lily unnie to be the jealous type," bae said.
"when did you get here?!" haewon exclaimed, startled.
"it made my entire being feel like I was being soaked underwater, and I couldn't breathe. if, if that even makes sense..."
"it does, don't worry." you reassured her.
"but it also felt like it was... burning? Like I was burning."
"when I talked to haewon about you, I felt so conflicted. I thought, why would I ever have a crush on you? you're y/n."
ouch.
"but then, I realized you're also the y/n who's been there for me through thick and thin. the y/n who makes me smile effortlessly and wipes my tears away whenever I'm being extra emotional on a difficult day."
"the one who never judges me and has stuck by my side even though I'm probably annoying to you."
"you're the y/n who fits me perfectly, and no matter what happens, every memory I have with you has been sweet, heartwarming, and happy."
"looking back at the past and what we've been through together over the years has changed the way I look at you, and it makes me feel... I'm not sure how to describe it."
she pondered in thought, and her expression lit up.
"hey, remember when the netizens bashed me for being too honest on a live and how I should just keep my mouth shut?"
"you were so angry when the management team couldn't do anything about it that you wanted to personally go to the jyp building and confront them there."
"ugh, yes, I remember that," you groaned and covered your face with your hands in embarrassment while she chuckled and grabbed them away.
"I don't think anyone would have stopped you if haewon didn't drag you to your room." she whispered and teased, staring at you in amusement as you nodded her off, grumbling about the incident.
"I was even willing to riot online... bastards." you mumbled.
"what was that?"
"it's nothing!"
she giggled at your words, "oh, you're so silly."
"y/n, you made me realize you're not just my best friend. you're something else to me, something so much more, and something friends shouldn't ever feel for each other."
"and I resented myself for quite a while. until I realized it wasn't wrong, I was only scared of ruining our friendship."
"so, that's why I'm here to declare it. I'm going to say it, y/n. are you ready? tell me you're ready." her voice echoed throughout the kitchen and living room, and you laughed at her antics.
"lily..." you shook your head, heart beating faster. you gestured to her in encouragement. "I'm ready."
she held your hands and smiled at you wholeheartedly.
"I like you, y/n. I like you so much."
"oh my god!! she did it!"
"she actually said it?!"
"lily... I."
she leaned forward, eyes sparkling with hope.
"you...?"
"I—..."
"I..."
"..."
"...?"
"hey, wait, you're doing this on purpose!!"
when she saw you laughing again, her expression fell, making her pout and whine, looking at you disgruntled.
"I'm being serious here! do you like me, or do you not—"
you cut her off, "god, you're so cute,"
she blushed, her eyes widening, and her face fired up to different shades of red, quite flustered.
you moved closer, your gaze locked on hers. you placed your hands on lily's waist, causing her to freeze, unsure of what to do.
you smiled and grabbed her hands, putting them on your shoulders.
"there we go."
she stared up at you, looking at you with trustful eyes.
"lily, may I kiss you?"
"I—..." she stared at you in surprise. "yes. you may kiss me, y/n."
you tilted your head, glancing at her lips to her eyes. she tried shying away, but you laughed and stopped teasing, softly kissing her lips.
it was innocent and sweet. you could sense lily's nerves as she stood stiffly. you eased her by moving your mouth against hers.
she melted into the kiss, her hands clasped around your neck. you pulled her closer than before, your hands now grasping her lower back, and you completely surrendered yourself to her, the woman who had you from the start, lily.
you caressed her sides, making her squirm and squeal. you chuckled as you broke away from the kiss, seeing her amazed and stunned, standing there dumbfounded.
"oh, my god."
you both took deep breaths, your foreheads touching. lily took your breath away in many ways. she was so hypnotizing. everything about her managed to lure you in.
"y/n... that was... so... wow."
"wow. wow, indeed."
every. single. time.
whether it was this kiss, a sleepover in her room, or another run to the convenience store in the middle of the night,
she always drew you in. always.
she giggled, staring at you adoringly.
"y/n... does that mean we're dating now? am I your girlfriend?"
you blinked and stared at her dumbly.
"lily... yes, you are my girlfriend."
if you could do a replay in real-time, you'd want it to replay this moment over and over.
the way she crashed into your body, hugging you tightly and squeezing you with all her might.
"thank you, y/n." she whispered into your neck.
the way your members cheered and ran out of the hallway, not caring to hide anymore.
the way you felt when you held her.
"of course, lily." I might even love you.
the way you felt, at that moment, when your long-time best friend and the love of your life loved you the same.
your heart ached.
and, in between the lines, you knew it was in a good way.
"...y/n, am I a good kisser?"
"oh, come on, lily."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
bonus!
"Hey, so you and Lily unnie, huh?"
you stared at your phone in shock, not expecting a notification from jinni late at night.
"yunjin? how are you? how did you know,"
she typed her message, and when she sent it, you scoffed in disbelief. but not so much in surprise.
"Yoona." "I expected it, honestly. I could see you two get together from a mile away!"
"she's still updating you a lot, I see?"
"Who else would be doing it? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
you chuckled, typing a response back.
"i hope you two last long."
"You too, unnie."
"I miss you. tell her I miss her, too."
she added, "I guess Lily unnie as well..."
"don't let her see that." you laughed, already missing your former member.
"ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ"
"See you whenever I see you, unnie. I love you."
"i love you too."
see you, jinni.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
ending notes — I have roller coaster on repeat (also idk if that bashing thing actually happened I just made it up) I lowkey feel like I trashed this, PLS tell me what you think
237 notes · View notes
aliveinacoffin · 9 months
Note
REQUESTTTT The reader is a new teacher at UA and tries getting on all the teachers good side but aizawa is so good at keeping his emotions hidden she doesn’t know if he likes her. After the training camp incident they move into dorms and she lives with aizawa but they have seperate rooms to sleep in but everything else is shared. And during this time Aizawa “hating” her more as he always lectures her and gets mad at her so she’s convinced he practically hates her. She ends up hating him too cause he starts making her do more work. He ends up training her and she hates him even more since he wasn’t going easy and just gave her bruises or something. Then one day she was in the lounge room for their shared dorm area and she was doing something and aizawa helps her do it and BAM. she develops a crush and…. (Add ur own ending and twists because I know I’ll love it 💕💗) (also sorry this is long)
omg this seems so cute in a like, angry old man way if that makes sense LMAO, I hope you don't mind that I gave reader a quirk,,,,I felt it wouldn't make sense if she didn't
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Hating You As Well
PT1(right here ^*^), PT2, PT3
You were honestly just trying to make some friends at work, but this one guy is just soo RRRR, how are you supposed to deal with that?
(i didn't want to make him too mean, but I didn't want to make him nice, obviously, so instead he's socially awkward and stand-offish and dumb, I hope that's not too far off from what you wanted ^-^)
Fem!Reader, She/Her pronouns
TW: slight, very slight angst i guess, arguing, semi depictions of violence and gore, stupid aizawa
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UA.
It was the top hero school in all of Japan, and thanks to people like All Might, known in high regard nationally.
So, when you got your call back that you got accepted as the history teacher, you actually screamed. Literally jumping up and down, screaming and crying in pure, unfiltered happiness that you got the job. Of course, you opened your phone to tell someone, anyone, that you got your literal dream job, but you stopped. It's not that you didn't have anyone to tell, it's just that you didn't have anyone who wasn't your family to tell. For a second, it saddened you, but you didn't wallow in your sadness, no! Right then and there, you promised yourself that you'd befriend everyone you could at UA, even the terrifying principle.
So that's how you got here, holding the biggest plate filled with snacks from peanuts to cake while nervously walking into the conference room.
Principal Nedzu had given you a personal tour of the school after he called you, but you had personally never met the other staff members. You can't help but think your principal did that on purpose. After wandering for a short moment, you were still new so you deserved some slack, you found your destination. But something held you back, standing awkwardly in front of the door. You could hear the muffled voices and music coming from the room, its friendly aura spilling out from the hallway.
You were only a little nervous, years of being a high-ranking pro instilled a natural confidence in you, but the small thought of not making any friends slightly unnerved you. Well, better get on with it. You took a deep breath and opened the door, and while the music didn't stop, you felt like it did.
All eyes were on you in an instant, the chatter ceased and everyone turned to look at you.
After a pregnant pause, you spoke up first. "This...is the staff party, right?" Your voice came out squeaker than you wanted to, and the answer to your question seemed rather obvious.
"Yeah it is! You must be the newbie, right?" Present Mic was the first to speak up, his smile wide and infectious. Others giggled around them, all the attention on you was less negative and more positive, a newfound excitement in the air.
"Yes, I'm unfortunately the newbie. Can I set this down anywhere?" You lifted up your large platter of food, and the loud blonde practically drooled.
"I'll take that from you." He swiftly took the food out of your hands and started digging in while trying to find a place to set it down.
Midnight strolled up to you, a small smile on her face. "I'm Nemuri Kayama. Don't worry, you're not the only new staff member this year. Not only do we have All Might, but we have Toshinori Yagi too. Yagis kinda shy, he's just been kinda hanging out in the back." Kayama nodded her head to the far right corner, where the aforementioned man was just...standing alone, almost literally in the corner.
"Oh, well, that makes me feel a little better." You hid your guilty smile with your hands, not only were you glad that you weren't the only new staff member, but that you weren't the most awkward one in the room.
"Plus, it's great to have another girl on the team, it's a real sausage fest in here." She groaned, dramatically holding her head in her hand. Looking around, you realized she was right. There was a 1:9 female-to-male ratio. The male staff members greatly outnumbered the female to an embarrassing degree, but it made sense. Males unfairly dominated the hero field, and even if there was a strong female pro hero, more often than not, she was either treated as a joke or made to be crazy masculine. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but more often than not, it's not by choice, since to be taken seriously, they have to act meaner and tougher than originally wanted.
"I see what you mean, Jesus." There was a playful tone in your voice, showing no real contempt or malice.
"I'm the modern art history teacher, by the way, in case you didn't know." Kayama fully introduced herself, holding out her hand for you to shake. You gratefully took it, marveling at just how soft her hand was.
"Oh! I'll be the new history teacher, guess we're kind of twins. And I'm sorry to fangirl, but I really appreciate all your work." You gushed unashamed.
"Oh I don't mind, I also really appreciate your work! Your quirk is rather interesting, and the way you handle yourself out there is nothing to scoff at." Kayama smiled, giving you the same energy as you put out.
You blushed, compliments like that were not unusual but from one of your idols, no less? It was like a dream come true.
"Thank you, it just comes naturally, you know?" You tried to wave her off, basically saying it's nothing compared to you.
Your quirk was rather unconventional in what it was. You could manipulate the light around you, bending and manipulating the light waves and atoms. You could literally touch rays of light and bend it like a straw, plus you could take it away and 'store it' in your body. It was funny when you took too much because you became a living nightlight. Though to do it, you needed to be physically touching the rays, so you wore a rather lightweight suit with no gloves and no shoes. Hey, who needs to walk on water when you could walk on light?
Your suit was rather skimpy, maybe a reason that both you and Kayama attracted each other. You basically wore a swimsuit, with a crop top shirt that stopped at your shoulders, and basically boy short underwear for a bottom. However, you could barely see your 'pants' because of the pockets that lined the entire thing. Another cool thing you could do with your quirk is you could store the light in physical pockets that you had.
"Well, I'd only assume. I'm glad that someone like you is on the team, and I'm sure I'm not the only one." Kayama looked over your shoulder, and just as you were about to turn to where she was looking, strong arms almost tipped you over.
"Heya newbie!" A light and bubbly voice yelled in your ear, you could only wonder who it was. Peeking over, Present Mic was smiling in your face, spikey hair and sunglasses almost directly in your face. "I'm Hizashi Yamada, and I don't really care for formalities, so you can just call me Hizashi!" He pushed himself off of you and was pumping up his arms in the air. Hizashi still had some crumbs on his face, and you couldn't help but laugh at his outlandish introduction.
Soon after him, one by one each staff member introduced themselves formally, telling you their real names and what they teach. In turn, you gushed and fawned over each one, calm but bright energy attracting everyone to you. Like moths to a light. Heh, get it?
Still, it was great. Even the shy Yagi comes up to you to politely introduce himself, an unspoken bond formed because it was both your first year teaching.
All but one.
A grumpy sleeping bag resting below an open window pointedly ignored all the noise and commotion going on. Determined, you walked over and leaned over the yellow lump to see if a person was even in there.
"Yes?" A dark voice drawled, and in an anti-climatic movement, the sleeping back slowly turned over. You were greeted with the image of a man in his late 20s or early 30s, with dark wild hair and a patchy 5 o'clock shadow. You nearly jumped back, but you kept your composure. You leaned over with your hands on your hips, your stomach pudging at the position.
"I was just checking if you were a person." A heavy cough behind you made you flinch, "If you were a living creature." You could hear a small 'better!' from somewhere in the background. You could swear there was a flash of a smirk on the mysterious man's face. But just as soon as it was there, it was gone in an instant.
"Well, I'm alive if that's what you're wondering." He quickly turned over, but you didn't move away. In fact, you stayed in the same exact position. "What?" His muffled voice made you giggle, and you stood up to stretch your back.
"I don't know your name. I can introduce myself first if you want?" You offered, trying not to seem as stand-offish as he was.
"I'm Ereaserhead. A homeroom teacher." That was all he offered of himself.
Hizashi popped up from behind you, pulling you away from the grump. "That's Shouta Aizawa, don't mind him, he's always this cranky."
You smiled and shook your head, "I don't mind, he seems interesting." Shrugging your shoulders as you walked away, you missed the rustling of his sleeping bag as he turned to watch you walk away.
___________________________________________
Turns out, Shouta Aizawa was interesting. Also, a major asshole, give or take.
All the teachers were stationed to watch different cameras for the entrance exam. Of course, there were hundreds of other workers with designated cameras and areas, the teachers were mostly there to get an overview and get a general of the upcoming class of students. You and Hizashi happily discussed what students you both wanted, Aizawa was muttering on how reckless and idiotic they all were.
"Hey c'mon dude, give them a break! Most of them don't even know what they're doing." You tried, leaning back in your rolly chair to take a peek at him. Aizawa barely spared you a glance, angrily sipping at his coffee.
"That's the problem, they're clueless and delusional. Especially that one, he's an idiot for going after the zero-point robot, and it's the only robot he's gone after." He pointed to a glowing student flying up in the air, the boy reeled his arm back to deliver a K.O punch to the thing.
"Hey, but he'll get points for saving a young girl." Hizashi butted in, normally spiked hair down and flowing all over the place.
"Really?" You turned back to the screen to watch a young girl get up to try and thank him, but he was out cold. "Well, even if he is a little clueless, he showed great effort and quick thinking to save a girl." You shrugged, looking back at Aizawa.
He scoffed and turned back to flickering through the cameras, taking notes along the way.
You made a face behind the underground heroes' back, before going back to take your own notes.
Later, Aizawa would review the footage of that mysterious green-haired boy to watch just how 'heroic' he was.
___________________________________________
Not soon enough, classes started. You met lots of odd and interesting students, their quirks just as amazing as the next. Each of them was either fascinated or bored with your existence, gushing about the former 30th hero. Teachers and underground heroes were placed on a different scale than billboard heroes since there wouldn't be a fair grading process. Not only did they gush about you, but they also talked about with great vigor their other classes and teachers.
This meant you quickly made aware of how Aizawa decided to conduct his first day as a teacher. Now, you knew Aizawa had been a teacher longer than you, and UA was very free with how a teacher conducted their class, but you were shocked he threatened to expel an entire class of students. His own for god sake!
(Un)Fortunately, both you and Aizawa had a free period at the same time, and you tried to take advantage of this fact.
"Sooo, some of our students talked about their first day." You started awkwardly, fiddling with your papers.
Aizawa looked over at you through a jelly packet and papers, nearly quirking an eyebrow in response.
"Did you really threaten to expel them?" You asked, a little taken aback at the mere mention of it.
"Yes, not only did I see how they performed under duress, but I saw what giving their all looks like." The whole time he spoke he was entirely focused on the papers in front of him, trying to grade the papers he already handed out the first week of school.
"Oh! That's smart, not only can you weed out all the lackluster students, you'll be able to tell when they're slacking." You snapped your fingers in recognition, proud of yourself for figuring out his odd teaching methods.
Aizawa merely grunted in response, ending the conversation with an odd air. You tapped your knees while trying to find another conversation opener.
"Hey, you know, Kayama invited us all for drinks on Friday. Celebrate the new school year, are you coming?" Truly, you did wonder if the mysterious man would go. The R-rated hero made a group chat and already asked everyone. Aizawa had just never responded, and you kinda had a feeling what his answer would be.
"I have better things to do." He grumbled, and he stood up, gathered all his papers, and just left.
"What the hell?"
___________________________________________
Turns out, no he didn't.
You had turned up fashionably late, and almost all of the staff were already there when you arrived. Shouta showed up disastrously late, stumbling in sometime after you. He slid into the booth across from you, flagging down a waiter for just a boring beer.
"I thought you had better things to do?" You questioned Aizawa, sipping at whatever fruity drink Hizashi made you try.
"I did, but those two wouldn't stop pestering me." Aizawa nodded to Kayama and Hizashi next to you, who were already buzzed and very happy.
Even at the mere mention of him, Hizashi perked up and grinned mischievously at Aizawa.
"That's not true! You just wanted to find an excuse to hang out with the new teacher!" Hizashi teased, eyebrows wiggling up and down.
Aizawa scoffed, "
"I don’t need to kiss ass with my coworkers. I’m only here to be kept in the loop of the going on here.” He muttered into his cup, face hidden by the large utensil.
Okay, wow, rude much? You rolled your eyes, “You don’t need to be an ass.” You muttered under your breath, more to yourself than anything. 
“No, but I do need to be professional.” Aizawa shot back, face now in full view. He had his hair up, fringe not held down by his messy bun. 
Your shoulders slouched while you gave him a ‘dude what?” look. “I've been nothing but cordial to you and others.” 
“Your carefree attitude is nothing other than annoying.” Aizawa had his arms crossed now, leaning back in the booth. Everyone else was either pointedly ignoring you or just too wrapped up in their conversations to notice or care about you two.
“I've been in the top fifty before I became a teacher, I’ve seen my fair share of blood and glory. I’m sorry I’m not a robot when it comes to my students.” Scoffing, you rolled your eyes and downed the rest of your drink, its sweet flavor dampening your bad mood.
“I’m a realist, bite me.”
“You’re a pessimist, there is a difference.” 
There was a heavy silence after that, Aizawa staring you down while you glared back. Neither of you broke eye contact, even when Hizashi made you get up to use the restroom, you still didn’t quit the staredown.
Fed up with the growing anger in your chest, and feeling the light around you start to bend around you, you slammed down what you owed and left.
You heard a drunk chasting voice as you left, but the steam pouring out of your ears prevented you from hearing it clearly.
___________________________________________
The last time you two talked was just as short and snappy as the last time, except now he was definitely on his high horse. He criticized your teaching methods, which pissed you off to no end because it was fucking Shouta Aizawa we were talking about, criticized how you acted, hell, he even criticized how you dressed.
You had been minding your business, making a new pot of coffee to keep you awake during the day. Footsteps behind you caught your attention, but you ignored them because you knew who it was and would rather die than deal with him right now.
“I still don’t understand how they let you walk around like that.”
Okay, ignoring over.
You turned to give him a nasty look. “Like what?”
“With barely any clothes on. What you’re wearing could be considered underwear, not a hero suit. There's no coverage.” Even though he was critiquing what you were wearing, he wasn’t looking at you. Instead, he was digging in the cabinets for a cup.
“And? This is what works best for my quirk, plus,” you laughed, but there was no real humor in it, “I’ve seen worse.”
“I have no idea how you’ve made it this far with such little clothing.” Aizawa shook his head like he was disappointed in you for your clothes. 
“Because clothes don’t matter, it’s who's wearing them that does.” You growled, angrily pouring your cup before stomping out of the room.
That was the last conversation you had before he went off to the USJ trip. Like always it was short and angry, a routine you’d unwillingly created. Truly, Aizawa was the only teacher you didn’t get along with, all the others from Hizashi to even Lunch Rush you had become friends with. Still, now you felt guilty about it. You had arrived late in regards to everyone else, blinding and emancipating a fair amount of stranglers but otherwise caught off guard by the situation. Thankfully, students were mostly unharmed, but the two teachers who had been there had been gravely injured. You only saw a glimpse of Aizawa's injuries, but your mind jumped to conclusions when you saw Kurose’s.
You had visited Kurose earlier, giving her flowers, candy, and books to read while she recovered. For Aizawa, you managed to find out he liked black licorice, so you brought a large bag along with yellow roses. Friendship.
You arrived at his room and stood there for a moment. There was silence on the other end, save for the small and quiet beep beep beep of his heart monitor. So he lives. 
You raised a hand and knocked.
“No more visitors.” He sighed from the other end, already annoyed.
You debated on just leaving, but for some reason, you opened the door and peeked in. 
“It’s just me.” Your voice was small, and your eyes quickly assessed the state your asshole coworker was in. 
“I said no visitors.” Aizawa's voice was just as deadpanned, and even though you couldn’t see his face, you knew he was scowling under all those bandages. His arms were cast, almost like prison cuffs rather than healing objects. Nearly his whole body was covered in white, almost blinding you.
“Well, I’m not a visitor, I’m a coworker.” You set down the flowers and candy at the table next to him and sat down in the chair across from him. Disgustingly, there was still warmth in it, and looking over to the second chair you could see the wrinkles in the seat.
“You’re an annoyance.” His bitterness came naturally, you realized now, that even when he was gravely hurt, he still managed to get under your skin.
"Is it so annoying that I wanted to see if my coworker was alive?" You asked, already pissed off.
"Well, I am, so you can leave." Aizawa tried to sit up fully, but he struggled to do so.
It was too awkward to just watch him struggle so pitifully, a man you've come to know with high pride and honor squirming around. So you got up and pressed a gentle hand on his back to guide him up, neither of you said anything while he adjusted. When Aizawa got comfortably situated, there was an awkward silence.
"How…how long are you gonna be bed-bound?" 
Aizawa didn't reply right away, leaving the question to awkwardly hang in the air.
"Doctor says it typically takes twelve weeks for an arm to heal, but they can cut that time in half." His gruff voice was soft, and it was the most open thing he's said about himself since you've known him.
"I hope it doesn't take that long! I have to give up my lunch to watch your class." You tried to jest, obviously attempting to lighten the mood.
"It won't, wouldn't want you to overload your work schedule." Aizawa's deep voice was back, just as guarded as usual.
That was the breaking point, and before you said something cruel to the injured man you simply got up and headed to the door. "Just get well man." And with that, you left.
"Damn it."
___________________________________________
He came back the next day.
"What the hell man?!" You barged into Aizawa's room angrily, greeted by the sight of Hizashi force-feeding him some sort of hearty meal.
Aizawa turned to look at you, eyes visible through the bandages.
"What?" 
"You're back? You said that the doctors said-"
"It would take him a minimum of six weeks to heal! We know!" Hizashi scolded, tense and angry.
"But no one can stop Aizawa, we just have to make him relax." Kayama scolded, going through his class papers. "I'll grade your quizzes, Hizashi can grade your tests and you can grade his assignments, can't you?" The dominatrix was looking at you now, holding stacks of papers that Aizawa had yet to catch up on, now made impossible with his injuries.
"How does a single man have so much work?" You set the tea you had been saving for the aforementioned man. You had barely made it this morning, something healthy to sip on while he healed. Quickly walking over you leafed through all the miscellaneous assignments both he and All Might had assigned. “I can do all of these no sweat.” You shrugged, taking them all under your arm.
“I’m fine. You’re all overreacting-”
“Don’t even say you’re fine! You just got out of the hospital!” All three of you yelled at him in disbelief. The sliding doors slid open once more, and Recoverys girl's small form waddled through, looking just angry and as disappointing as you all felt. 
Wanting to get a jumpstart on grading papers, since you already had your won to grade, you walked out of the room in silence, not wanting to intrude on this unfamiliar song and dance.
___________________________________________
The next two weeks the students were buzzing with excitement, and you saw even less of Aizawa. Always just holed up in his room. 
For some reason, you always left him a pot of coffee for him to drink on his desk. He never questioned it or brought it up. You never said anything either.
___________________________________________
When Aizawa fully recovered, he immediately took back all his work. He stopped by your classroom during both of your lunches. 
You hadn’t even noticed him walking in, too busy with eating and marking papers with a glitter purple pen, leaving critiques, praises, hearts, and X’s
“You can stop ruining my papers with that horrible pen.” You jumped, almost falling back in your seat at the unexpected sound of Aizawa’s voice.
“Ruining? I’m decorating. I’m sorry you take even grading so seriously.” You shrugged, putting the finishing touches on Shouto Todoroki’s paper. Ending it with a ‘Good job! :D’ 
“It’s a distraction, you could use the effort you put in desecrating these papers into your job.” He took the paper up from your desk, skimming it before he looked at you again and sighed. “Where are the leftovers.” 
“Leftovers?”
“The ones you didn’t finish, the leftovers.” He pressed like you were stupid.
You leaned back, a sense of pride and smugness filling you. “Check the date.” You smirked, eyes sharp and dangerous. 
Aizawa stared at you with an unreadable expression, but you saw his eyebrows furrow just a little. He took a glance down and his eyes widened in surprise.
2XXX/5/06
Today.
“Well, then you better catch up on your own work. It’s foolish that you-” 
You cut him off by showing your turn-in/graded basket, the graded side completely full.
“Try again.” Your smirk widened, hands raising in a flourish while you leaned back again.
He said nothing while his eyes flickered between all the papers in front of him, and he lifted his head again. “Then you’re probably behind on reports, those are important-”
You cut him off again, turning your computer towards him so he could see not only your completed progress reports but his as well. 
“Boom bitch.” For once, you had the upper hand, getting to gloat in his face while he had nothing to say back.
“You shouldn’t use such foul language in the workplace.” Was all he could say while he gathered his papers. On his way out you called out to no one in particular.
“You’re welcome! Ah, whatever.”
You stretched your aching hands, and drank your third energy drink for the day, stomach protesting from so much caffeine on an empty stomach. You dreaded your hero shift later.
___________________________________________
There was an impromptu meeting, and at first, you were confused about what it was about, but you knew whatever it was, it was serious.
Everyone's somber faces made you nervous, and you leaned over to Hizashi and whispered in his ear. “What happened?”
“Apparently, something happened during the students' work studies, but no one can figure out what happened.” He shrugged, just as lost and unnerved you.
Aizawa stood up from the U-shaped table, going to stand in the middle while he looked off angry at nothing. “There was an incident during our first-year students' work studies. Three studies were put in harms way, coming face to face with the hero killer: Stain.” 
People started to murmur, but Principal Nedzu popped up from the depths of the erasing hero's scarf. 
“Now we understand your concern, as you know the situation has been dealt with. We’ve been asked by the HPSC to keep quiet and have no comment. The affected students will remain anonymous, so even if you do figure out what happened, you are required to keep quiet. You are all dismissed.” The hyperintelligent mouse hopped down and sauntered out of the room. Many staff members followed, murmuring in small groups. You, Kayama, Kurose, Hizashi, and Snipe formed your own group, staying behind to talk within yourselves.
“I knew it was a bad idea for the students to be sent off, I argued with the idea before, and now I see I should’ve fought harder.” Snipe shook his head in both frustration and disappointment.
“Well, what happened was unfortunate, but it gave other students a light into real hero work. Hard times come with drastic measures.” Kayama rebutted, though one could tell to some degree she agreed with the gun hero.
“But they’re so young, such traumatizing events should be saved for their later years.” Yamda’s voice was laced with an old sadness, and Kayama’s face fell crestfallen.
“I agree, I hope those students are well now.” You began, but the conversation was cut short by the sound of everyone's next period beginning. You waved your little group goodbye, turning around to pick up your bag and papers.
“Gossiping is unbecoming.” 
You shook your head, annoyance once again festering at you. It seemed like even when you heard his voice at this point, anger consumed you. “So is lying.” 
“Who lied?” Aizawa’s voice was full of disbelief, taken aback.
“The HPSC. We’re supposed to be quiet that three of our students were put in danger.” You turned around once all your papers were gathered, and you stared the man down.
“That’s not lying, we are merely setting measures to make sure the situation doesn’t get out of hand.” He shook his head like the answer was simple.
“Omitting information is lying under the law, do their parents know?” 
“The affected students' parents were made aware, yes.” His monotone voice was really starting to piss you off.
“So none of the other parents know? And to what degree do they know?” For some reason you dragged out this conversation, it didn’t really matter how long this conversation went on anyway, thanks to the free period.
“That’s not your place to know.” He made no move to leave.
“It is, they’re my students too.” Taking a step forward, encroaching into his personal space, you puffed up your chest. Challenging him.
“You’re an elective teacher, they’re my students, under my care.” Aizawa didn’t back down.
“So then why did it even happen in the first place? Why send out fifteen-year-olds with a murderer on the loose?” You argued back.
“Because I didn’t know. I would’ve never let them out if I had known. Your foolishness will be the death of not only you but the students here as well.” He snapped back, violently grabbing his coffee cup, and stormed out.
His words rang over and over in your ears, and for some reason shame and anger mixed in your stomach, twisting at your insides. Stomping out of the room when you snapped out of your trance, you realized guilt also twisted up inside you.
___________________________________________
Last minute, you were invited to the training camp. At first, you were going to refuse, spend your summer break dealing with the chaotic kids that were class 1-A and 1-B? Yeah, hell no. But the promise of a pay raise eventually won you over, even if you deny this. Plus, recently you have been..lacking in your skills. So busy with being a teacher your fighting skills had diminished, and it wasn’t as if you were now suddenly helpless. You just weren’t at your peak anymore, and all you needed was that extra exercise to put that pep back in your step. So thats how you found yourself packing in the early hours of the morning to pack for the four-week-long trip. 
Later in the morning, you found out who you’d be busing with. Class 1-A, or, more specifically, Shouta Aizawa. You immediately turned around at the school gates, but the sounds of students jeering at you stopped you. 
“Where are you going teach?” Kaminari called after you, and Iida chastised him for the informal name. 
“It’s alright Iida, I don't mind.” You placated the blue-haired boy and turned your attention back to the electric student. “Nowhere, I got roped along to the trip.” You sighed bowing your head in defeat. 
“Don’t act that way, we were promised extra pay and you were the first to respond.” Aizawa chastised you, coming up from behind you all, carrying a heavy duffle bag. Even his choice of luggage was bare bones!
Kaminari gasped in hurt, holding a hand over his heart.
“No need to call me out in front of the students!” You growled, shooing him away.
___________________________________________
It took nearly an hour to corral all the students on the bus, and you and Aizawa settled at the front of the bus, both in opposite seats. You waited for the bus to get on the road, and for the students to be too distracted to notice the conversation between you and your unspoken hater to bring up a thought that started to nag you.
“Aizawa.” You were facing him, and the dark-haired man simply side-eyed you instead of acknowledging you. You ignored that. “Why am I the only elective teacher here, wouldn’t it make more sense to bring someone like Hizashi or Anan’s or even Ryo? They’re all much better equipped to be here than me.” Genuinely, this had confused you. No diss to Hound Dog, or Ryo as you’d grown to know him the past couple of months, the stress on his name was that he’d be the absolute best option here. Out in an open area where a multitude of students could get lost? Why not bring the literal hound dog? 
“You’ve gotten pretty friendly with the staff.” That was his response, a non-answer, and a deflection. 
“Dude, seriously? That’s what you’re hung up about? Yes, I see and communicate with them every day, and we all go out for drinks once every week. I’m pretty sure all the teachers are on a first-name basis personally except for you.” Shooting back, your hands now rested on your knees, hunched over in a defensive position.
“It’s unprofessional. Teachers shouldn’t know each other on such a personal basis.” Aizawa closed his eyes again, trying to nap his way out of the conversation.
You flung your hands up, “You’re right, god forbid I have friends.” Unwillingly, your voice got tight with emotion. 
Aizawa opened his eyes fully, and faced you fully, also registering the vulnerability that was presenting in your voice and demeanor. 
Even though it’s only been four months, you have grown close with your UA allies. Not only that, but they all welcomed you with open arms and held you in the same regard as you did them. You had especially grown close with Snipe, even if he didn’t tell you his name (or anyone for that matter, you tried looking it up and found articles of his secrecy, mans loves his privacy), along with Anan after USJ, and naturally gravitated towards Hizashi and other elective teachers. The reason you felt so offended by his words, why you got so close with your fellow staff was because you didn’t have other friends. You barely had a family, it was just your dad and estranged siblings, who either didn’t speak to you or didn’t really care for you.
“I just meant you shouldn’t rely so heavily on others, they won’t always be there to save you.” That was reaching, even for Aizawa. 
“I don’t, and I know they won’t. You’ve made that so clear.” You swallowed thickly, a burning feeling crawling up your throat signaled you needed to shut up now or else they would be waterworks. And that would be embarrassing for everyone. Sometimes it kept you up at night that Aizawa was the only teacher you didn’t get along with. The others reassured you that he was aloof with everyone, Hizashi and Kayama just saying he was a big hardass with a big heart. But you just didn’t see it, it seemed like he was just mean to you. With people like Ryo and Anan, he was just quiet and cutthroat, but you? Just straight-up mean, brushing you off, undermining you, constantly nagging and criticizing you for everything that you did. It was annoying and frustrating since you had been nothing but nice. You genuinely wanted to be his friend, his mysterious nature and gruff attitude was cool, badass even. Plus, you couldn’t deny he wasn’t unattractive, stubble and dark hair was just so handsome. But his behavior was not. Still, you couldn’t help but seek out ways to try and get on his good side, making coffee, leaving snacks you’d found out he liked out, and taking his side whenever you could in meetings.
You didn’t bring it up again, spending the rest of the ride blinking back angry tears, or maybe it was the disappointment that he didn’t reassure you. Either way, he didn’t say anything either.
___________________________________________
Well fuck. Now you were mad at the school for trying to make the students grow up so fast, figuring out the training camp was usually only for second years due to the rigorous nature, soured your mood further. Not only that, you worried about all the children alone in the woods.
“They’ll be fine.” Aizawa placed a strong hand on your shoulder, and while it made your heart jump, it also pissed you off more. 
“It’s a pretty big fuckin forest, what if they get lost or something not part of the exercise attacks them?” You stepped forward, trying to peek at the mess below you.
“They’ll be fine, they can handle themselves. I have no doubt.” You should trust him, Aizawa was their homeroom teacher and no doubt has seen what they can do, but it still unnerved you that these young kids were just out alone. 
“I’ll just watch over them then.” You crouched on top of the messed-up fence and jumped. 
You heard Mandaly shout in pure fear behind you, but her voice died as you seemingly climbed and crawled through thin air. 
High above you watched their movement, keeping track of every rustle and shout. Lazily swimming in the light, arms, and legs pumping while you focused on slipping through the waves of the light. Your skin softly glowing and your body becoming lighter than air.
Somewhere far away, a dark-haired man realized the reason for such a vulnerable suit was to give you full access to your quirk. Still, you had no protection against sharp talons and dangerous attacks. Maybe, there was a better way?
___________________________________________
You didn’t arrive until late, and you were exhausted and hungry. You had almost fallen out of the air multiple times, your body ached and burned, already feeling the sunburn growing on your fingers and knees, places you used your quirk the most.
You were in the private kitchen, searching for something to eat when Mandalay handed you a plate of food.
“You look beat!” 
“I feel like someone dragged me through the mud on a hot summer day.” You sighed, gratefully accepting her food, and flopped down on the plush couches.
“I can imagine. I didn’t know what your quirk was, so you scared me when you just jumped. Thankfully Eraserhead explained it to me.” She sighed, shaking her short brown hair.
That made you perk up, “He did?” 
“Yeah! He seemed to know a lot about it! You must be very close. Oh, the teacher's dorms are just down the hall, we have our own spring and private bathrooms.” She dug into her food and scrolled through her phone.
Weird.
___________________________________________
You were so glad you weren’t a student anymore. 
They were really putting students through the wringer, making them get up early and push themselves to their absolute limits. You and Aizawa stood side by side while you watched over the students, you took notes and he watched dutifully. Your fingers and knees were stinging like a bitch now, skin peeling off quickly, leaving your skin raw and sensitive.
“Looks like you could use endurance training as well.” Here we go.
“Ha ha.” You rolled your eyes. “They’re only like this because towards the end I had to really look for light, it got dark fast and I had been using my quirk nonstop for eight hours. Let me see you do that.” You didn’t see Aizawa's shocked face, and you had stunned him into silence.
“I couldn’t.” 
You looked up, and stared at him in confusion. “Couldn’t what?”
“Use my quirk for that long. I can only use it for thirty minutes to an hour now, even if I strain.” Aizawa shrugged as if that wasn’t absolutely horrifying news. 
“Since when?” You abandoned your notes now, giving Aizawa all of your attention.
“After USJ. Doctor said the more I strain, the worse it gets. Plus, my eyes are dryer than before, so it makes it harder to keep them open for so long.” Aizawa wasn’t looking at you, instead opting to stare ahead, facial expression carefully neutral.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Your voice was quiet, and his adams apple bobbed. 
“There was no reason to cause unnecessary worry.” 
“Still that’s…really fucking shitty. I’m sorry dude.” 
Aizawa regretted telling you, not being able to stand that sad, kicked puppy look. Hated the reason being him.
“There’s no reason to cause a fuss, such things happen all the time. You should get used to it.” 
“Never mind.” You rolled your eyes, but there was no real bite in your tone. He finally looked at you when you said that, your empathy replaced with slight annoyance. 
___________________________________________
The next day was much of the same, with both homeroom teachers pushing and critiquing their classes to do and be better. Aizawa’s speech about being better had warmed your heart, and for the first time since you’d known the closed-off man you saw just how much he cared for his students. All he wanted from them was to grow and be better, he was strict out of love and care. It was beautiful in a weird way, but your moment was broken when Midoriya questioned why they were the only teachers there. When he walked away from the inspired green-haired boy, you stopped him in his tracks.
“Hold on.” You skipped in front of the dark teacher, standing your ground. “If All Might isn’t here to not draw attention, and other staff weren’t invited so as to not leak the location of the new grounds, why am I here?” You questioned, encroaching on his personal space to get him to finally answer you.
“It was thought you’d be a good choice to watch over the students.” Again, deflective and a not good answer. He started to walk away, but you followed closely by his side.
“Okay sure, we’ll go with that. But why me? Again, what about Ryo? Or Ectoplasm? They’re much better for wide search and rescue than I am.” You argued.
“You are also independently efficient, not needing the incentive to work hard. Plus, your relationship with the students is..friendly. You work well with the Pussy Cats with your open nature.” Again, he was pointedly not looking at you.
“It sounds like you asked me to be here.” You started to tease, a sense of pride at the indirect/direct praise.
“You were paid to be here, now are you going to waste my time with pointless questions or are you going to do your job.” Aizawa snapped, and that quickly dampened your mood. Note to self, don't tease Aizawa.
Pixie Bob announced that there would be a test of courage later. You were so-so to the idea, knowing you were probably just going to be hanging out in the hot springs anyway, the dark not really being your strong suit.
___________________________________________
It smelt like shit. 
That was the first thought in your head when you stepped outside, seeking fresh air. How weird, 1-B must really be going all out to scare 1-A. You were unfortunately still in your hero suit, only barely getting back to your room. Somewhere in the building, you knew Sekijiro and Aizawa was teaching their remedial class, and outside the Pussy Cats were watching over the courage course. So, lazily you walked to the kitchen, planning on getting a light snack before you took a dip in the hot spring, not being able to yesterday. Suddenly you jumped, a feeling of ice dumping all over you. Everyone! Mandalay’s shrill voice suddenly yelled in your head, you stopped immediately to look up. It’s possible there are more. Everyone who can move, get back to camp immediately! Even if you come across the enemy, retreat and do not engage! You felt the telepath end immediately, and your feet moved faster than your mind. You could hear the echoes of your feet slapping across the tile. Legs pumping and knees screaming in protest as you raced to the entrance. 
You had no idea what was happening, but you knew the students were in danger.
The front door came into your sight, and you burst through the doors and were greeted by a horrifying sight. A half-burnt and rotten man blasted Aizawa in a white-hot flame, and on instinct, you tackled him to the ground. 
He seemed unbothered by all of this and even chuckled. “You guys really are pros.”
You looked up to where he was looking and saw Aizawa crouching in the doorway above the entrance. Momentarily distracted, you missed the villain's hands coming up. He roughly grabbed the side of your face, digging his hot staples into your hair.
“Nothing's coming out.” He pouted, like a child. Knowing you wouldn't have your quirk either, you flipped him over and grabbed the back of his head. You dug your nails as hard as you could, and reeled back. With all your might, you slammed his face into the ground, shoving it down like a dog who pissed on the carpet.
The man dug his dirty fingernails into the innermost sensitive part of your thigh and dug, his staples ripping into you while you squirmed. 
You yelled out, and he used that to his advantage to flip you over. Aizawa quickly came up behind him, swiftly kicking the back of his head to straddle the back of him. Aizawa clutched his head and arm, still using his quirk.
“Tell me your name, purpose, number, and positions.” He growled out.
“Why.” The villain deadpanned.
“Because this-” Aizawa broke his arm in one quick movement, “will happen, your rights next. Let’s do this logically.” He lifted his head up, but his grip and gaze never faltered. “If I get your legs, it’ll be a pain to transport you.”
“Are we in a rush, Eraser,” The man made eye contact when he called out your hero name, and it sent a chill down your spine. The end of his spikey hair caught alight. Aizawa pounded his head in the ground a couple of times to stop him. 
Rustling caught both yours and Aizawa's attention, and an out-of-breath Iida, Mineta, Koda, and Ojiro made you panic.
In a moment of weakness, the man lunged forward, but Aizawa quickly caught him. He strained for a moment before he whipped around to stare you both down. 
“Hey heroes,” His gaze was manic and crazed. “Are your students important?” Then he started to melt. “I hope you can protect them all till the end.” He disappeared through the ground, his body left a mush. 
The group rushed towards you, calling out for both of you.
“Get inside! I’ll be back!” Aizawa took off without you, so you quickly took the porch and hallway light and followed him.
“Wait!” You called out after him, knees still screaming in protest, your fingers now burning with the aftermath of stealing the light.
“What are you doing? You’re better off in the building!” He yelled at you.
“I was a billboard pro before this, I can handle myself!”
“Oh yeah, you really proved that back there. Truly pathetic.” He snarled back, and you ran faster.
“Fuck you! Nothing I do makes you happy!” Your fighting was cut short by Midoriya suddenly appearing, a scared Kota on his back. “Midoriya-”
The boy called out to the both of you, “It’s horrible! There’s so much I need to tell you.” He was out of breath, his arm mangled and red.
“Hey-” Aizawa started, slightly out of breath as well.
“First we need to make Mandalay make an announcement- He has a water quirk, you have to protect him!” Midoriya cut him off, words rushed and slightly panicked.
He’s pumped full of adrenaline. Midoriya needed to calm down.
He tried to run off, but Aizawa stopped him. “Stop! Your arm…you did it again, didn’t you? Did you forget what happened in Hosu?” 
Midorya was lost in thought for a moment, and you and Kota stood confused. Your thigh was starting to have its own heartbeat, and you could feel the heat of the injury. You’ve gotten hurt worse, scars on your back a testament to that, but he had gotten a sweet spot in your leg. It was shaky and losing blood at a moderate pace, still, Midoriya, a student, was in a worse state and still pressing on. You’d live through worse and been fine, this would be no different.
“No, but…” The green-haired boy trailed off.
“So tell Mandalay this, everyone in classes A and B, you are granted permission to engage in combat.” With that, all parties took off, Aizawa turning to the woods and Midoryia back to camp. You followed Aizawa dutifully, pockets full of light providing some light in the darkness.
You could tell thoughts were racing in his mind, but the older man kept his thoughts to himself.
Kota's weak voice broke the tense silence. “Mister, will he be okay? I hurt him, and he still got up hurt to rescue me...I haven't even told him sorry or thank you yet.” Tears were now spilling from his wide eyes, and his grip on Aizawa's scarf tightened as big emotions consumed his small body. Before Aizawa could respond, you replied for him, not trusting him to say something to soothe his emotions.
“Of course, Kota, Midoryia is a strong hero, after all of this is done, you can properly apologize. I’m sure he’s forgiven you already.” You gave him your big winning smile, face lighting up in reassurance.
“Still, after this, we’ll have to scold him for acting without permission, so make sure you put emphasis on your thank you.” Aizawa said, running to find a place to keep the young child safe. 
___________________________________________ 
“Where are we going?” You called out to Aizawa, the chaos around you making you nervous.
“To the camp, I need to get Kota to safety.” While he was talking, you all broke out of the woods and rushed into the building. Aizawa gently set the boy down, and you both took a breather. The sounds of yelling caught both of your attention, and you groaned. “We just can’t catch a break, can we?” 
Aizawa shot you a glare and ran ahead, you still chasing after him. Rushing into the remedial class you saw that burnt man again, Aizawa jumped ahead to try and calm Sekijiro down and disarm the villain. You rushed ahead while his class cheered for him, and started to do horrid damage on the burnt man, smashing his head so hard into the ground it cracked the tile. Students yelled out horrified, but Aizawa cut them off.
“It won’t matter, it’s a fake.” They all watched in horror as the man melted beneath your fingers, but you didn’t stop punching into the ground, taking all your anger out on the slush.
“Is it a villains quirk.” Iida still hadn’t looked away, curious and slightly disgusted by the mess.
“What are you two doing here?” Sekijiro called out to both you and Aizawa, getting both of your guys attention.
“I rushed out to aid in the fight, but I ended up escorting Kota back to base. Please watch over him.” He was pointedly looking at you now, and it pissed you off. “I’m going to help on the front lines.” He tried to rush out, but Sekijiro stopped him.
“Ereaser, we don't know how many there are or how powerful they’re coming at us.” Aizawa turned around.
“You’ll be fine by yourselves, plus look, the fake was merely a diversion. They’re trying to distract us pros to make up for their meager number.” Aizawa shook his head.
“If there isn't that many of them, that’s even more of a reason for me-” Kirishma butted in, voice full of emotion.
“Yes! Nothing beats strength in numbers!” Iida interrupted, filled with the same determination. 
“No.” Aizawa's voice was firm, almost scary at how strong he spoke. “If they’re trying to keep us back, then they’re going after you.” The students deflated at his words. “Bakugo’s just one of them, but there might be others as well. We are still losing by a lot with our lack of information. For now, we’ll win by everyone being safe and sound.” He rushed back out to join the fray, with you not too far behind.
“Why are you still following me? You’re better back there.” Aizawa growled out to you, running through the dark.
“Because I’m a pro. I was accepted to teach at UA for a reason.” You were now frustrated, but now it was hard to tell whether it was because of Aizawa, or because of your fuck up at the beginning. You had been caught off guard by a simple attack, and if it weren’t for Aizawa's erasing quirk, you would have been caught on fire because you got distracted.
“Yeah, I can see that.” 
You said nothing in response, any response died on your lips when you saw the leftover disaster that was left. 
We lost.
___________________________________________
The damage that was left behind was both humiliating and haunting. Both a student and a pro went missing, one who had left with a considerable amount of injuries. Fifteen students had poison running through their veins, or were injured and had to be taken to immediate care. You were questioned by the police for hours while they desperately tried to figure out any information they could. You were of no help, and you knew that the only information you could give was of that patchwork-face guy with a weird melting/fire quirk.
You, Sekijiro, and Aizawa sat in silence while the police officer made a phone call to god knows who. Your thigh was really starting to hurt now, but you made no move to complain knowing the students had it worse than you. 
Sekijiro called out to you, and you snapped out of your thoughts to look at him. “Your thigh, are you alright? You look like you’ve lost a lot of blood.” He pointed to your injury, and you didn’t even look down to check.
“It’s fine, just a scratch.” You shook your head, mind filling with self-deprecating thoughts. Even if you had gotten 30th on the billboards, did you deserve it? Popularity had a lot to do with the point system, and your outwardly friendly attitude along with your flashy quirk made good product revenue. Plus, even if you weren’t weak, you realized that now was the first time you faced a real threat. The symbol of peace always being there to pick up the real messes and leave heroes like you to pick up the crumbs.
“It looks infected already.” He wouldn’t drop it, and you finally gave it to look down.
“I’m fine-” You stopped, your innermost thigh caked in dried blood and dirt, and it looked like the villain really got in there.
Later in the hospital, a nurse who was stitching you up pulled out a staple that was lodged deep in your leg.
___________________________________________
“Stop fussing, you look a mess.”
“Oh I’m sorry that I’m nervous.” 
For the past few days, all anyone could talk about was the incident at the camp. It wasn’t as if you could blame them, the most prestigious hero school in the country had landed twenty-seven students in the hospital. In response, all teachers involved along with the principal were asked to make an apology, broadcasted all across Japan. The suit you wore was lightly uncomfortable, a little too tight for your liking. Plus, you were constantly pulling down the skirt, someone had gotten you a size too small. Or maybe you were searching for an excuse to fuss and squirm. 
You and Aizawa hadn’t talked about the incident. Not that you needed to, you weren’t a couple, let alone friends, but there was an unknown tension in the air. Sekijiro had checked up on you, and had asked how your leg was.
“It’s fine, just needed stitches and a kiss from Recovery Girl, and now I’m good to go.”
Some part of you was angry that the dark-haired man didn’t reach out to you, but it was fine. It wasn’t but it was.
Aizawa shot you a look, and you quickly shut up. Sekijiro next to you just bumped your knee in reassurance. 
“We’re live.” The man in the middle of the room called out, signaling for you all to stand up and speak. 
“We deeply apologize for our shortcomings during the incident that allowed harm to twenty-seven first years in the hero course because of our shortcomings. We apologize for creating unease in our society because of our negligence in proper defense in our place of learning.” You all bent over in an apology, and you bowed the deepest. “We are truly sorry for the damage we’ve done.” You all stood back up straight, waiting for questions.
A man spoke out from within the crowd. “Since the beginning of the year, the UA students have had four encounters with villains. What specific countermeasures are you taking to ensure the safety of our students?” His voice was growing in volume the more he spoke, getting more and more passionate as he went on. 
“Our students are of top-most importance, we will work even harder as a team to make sure they are strong enough to become great heroes.” A  non-answer, Aizawa really was good at deflecting.
Another man stood up, holding a mic and paper. “During the incident, it appears you encouraged the students to fight. What was your intention behind this?”
Aizawa leaned forward to speak into the mic. 
“I concluded that because we were unable to fully grasp the situation, it had to be done to avoid the worst possible outcome.” 
“What do you mean, ‘worst possible outcome?’” Damn it, now they were gonna dig and pry and use any answer to get under your guys’ skin to try and get the upper hand. “You don’t call twenty-six victims and one abducted the worst possible outcome?” 
“My assumption was that the villains would drive out students to their absolute limit and be killed.” Aizawa replied cooly, but you saw his own hands clench tighter and tighter with every word.
Principle Nedzu spoke up, though he was sitting in his chair with his arms crossed. “The gas attack accounts for most of the injuries. We concluded it was merely a sleeping gas from one of the enemies' quirks’. Thankfully, the quick response of Ms. Kendo and Mr. Tetsutetsue led to no grave injuries in the attack. In addition, mental support is being given to all the students, but at the moment, we see no signs of serious psychological damage done.” His voice was light, and while it wasn’t its usual cheery tone, it was calm and soothing.
“Are you saying this was a bright spot in this tragedy?” The reporter shot back, trying to twist the words of the principal.
“We believed the worst outcome is one that would’ve infringed on the future.” 
“Can you say the same for the kidnapped Bakugo? He enrolled in UA High with excellent marks and won first place at the sports festival. In addition, during the incident with the sludge villain in middle school, he resisted the powerful villain alone. He has a history of showing how tough and heroic he is. On the other hand, the violence he showed in the finals and his attitude during the award ceremony shows that he is not always mentally stable. What if the villains kidnapped him because they had an eye on him? Kidnapping him with deceitful words and dying him with the path of evil?” The reporter's long rant was not only pissing you off but your allies as well. The more and more the reporter went on, the more serious he got like he was uncovering some big truth about a fifteen-year-old. “What evidence do you have for saying he has a future?”
Oh hell no. How dare a stranger assume the life of some kid with anger issues? You’ve spent nearly every day with the kid, even if you don’t have him all day you’ve seen a glimpse into Kastuki Bakugo's life. He was emotionally unstable, but he really did have a hero's heart, even if his asshole-ish nature offset that. Aizawa stood up, and you prayed he wouldn’t pop off and snap at the reporter.
Instead, he bowed down and apologized. “As an educator, I take full responsibility for Kastuki Bakugo's violent behavior. However, his actions at the sports festival originate in what he considers ‘ideal strength’. He is trying harder than anyone in his pursuit of becoming the ‘top hero.’” Aizawa peeked up from his bowed form, eyes hard and sharp. “If the villains thought they had an opening, then I believe they are being short-sighted.”
There was a tense silence, everyone swallowing the weight of Aizawa's words. Even you were amazed at such a declaration of truth and care.
The reporter meekly lifted up his mic once more. “That is not evidence, though. It isn't a question of how you feel-”
You wanted to throw yourself across the table and throttle him. Thankfully your principal spoke up once more before you could ruin your career. “We are not standing around idly by. We will definitely get our student back.” The interview/apology was ended after that, you and Sekijiro mostly there just because you were there. 
“Aizawa wait.” You sighed, heels quickly clicking after him. All you trying to avoid the rush of questions that flew out in response to the abrupt end. “Your speech was inspiring. I have no idea how you kept your cool while that asshole dissed your student.” 
“I had no choice, flying off the handle or having a weak moment would do no good." You couldn’t help but feel like that was a dig to you. “They were only trying to get under our skin.”
You immediately became guarded once more, and you stopped back to leave the other way. “Well, I just came by to praise you, have a good day.” You felt disappointed that all he said to you was something negative, hoping for once to have a decent conversation.
___________________________________________
You had to move into dorms for the rest of the school year, possibly longer if Nedzu saw fit. The meeting was awfully boring, Nedzu was currently going over how the dorms will be set up and students expectations as well as teachers. “Blah blah blah dont fuck up the dorms blah blah blah set up good examples for the students blah blah blah don’t bring over random people and please don’t have loud relations with your coworkers-” Wait what-
The meeting ended, and everyone packed up their bags while having light conversations with the others. You walked over to Yamda snickering, face in disbelief.
“Hey Hizashi, what was that last part?” You asked breathlessly, a laugh on your lips.
Hizashi snickered beside you, and Nemuri smiled and shook her head. “Principal Nedzu basically asked us not to not have one-night stands and to not have loud sex with each other.”
“Oh my god.” You covered your mouth with your hand, doubling over in an effort to hide your laughter. Hizashi had no shame was laughing manically, Nemuri was just smiling and shaking her head disappointingly beside you. 
___________________________________________
‘Roommates’ were hand-picked by the principal, based on the quiz he had created and forwarded to all the staff members. You had honestly answered all the questions, and were now riding the elevator up into your new home. Someone told you (Hizashi) that the apartments were apparently floor-through plan, a luxury floor plan really. The whole floor was dedicated to the rooming, and it was awesome. You didn’t know who your roomie was, the principal keeping that secret as a ‘Fun surprise!’ The elevator dinged, and you hurriedly pushed all your boxes out in the small hallway, pressing the ‘keep doors open’ button over and over. Luckily it was the last of the boxes, all your clothes, decorations, and miscellaneous cooking wear. Being promised that things like couches, beds/bed frames, and microwaves would be provided. You still brought over things like spoons/forks/butter knives and real knives, plus plates and cups. 
You went to open the door, panting from all the exertion but realized it was already locked. So your roomie was already here..? You fished out the key from the bags you brought and unlocked the door. Opening the door you expected your roomie to have already decorated (you kinda expected it to be Hizashi, both of you bounced off each other pretty well) but the kitchen looked untouched.
Opening the door more, you saw the dining room and living room bare, as well as the hallway. 
Maybe they hadn’t had time to decorate? 
You shrugged and started to push the boxes in, too tired to lift them up and move them again.
“You’ll scratch the floor like that.” Your whole body froze, a dark gloom falling over you. That familiar irritating voice.
You looked up slowly, face contorted in a forced smile. 
Aizawa Shouta.
“What are you doing here?” There was no way, in all of Nedzu's wisdom and knowledge that you and Aizawa were roommates. For the rest of the year. Or maybe, the rest of your career.
“Isn’t it obvious? We’re roommates.” He shrugged like an open admission wasn’t a death sentence. 
“But, how is that allowed, we’re different genders?” You literally wouldn’t have minded if your roomie was the same gender or not, but it was the fact that it was him.
“Gender doesn’t equate to things like sexuality or self-restraint. Are you saying we shouldn’t be roommates because you cannot-” How he said this with a blank face bewildered you.
“No! I’m just saying we don’t work well together, we can’t go a single conversation without going for each other's necks.” You cut him off, now becoming bewildered. 
“Well then, I guess you’ll have to show some self-restraint in other ways.” He shrugged and turned to go back into the room he already chose, which was annoying because why did he get first pick?
“Okay woah wait,” You followed him, the floor changing from kitchen tile to the carpet in the hallway. “I’m the one starting fights? Says the man who always has something negative to say, or who always just cuts me off and criticizes me.” He opened the door, and you saw a glimpse of his bare bedroom. 
“I don’t always have something negative to say, you always have something to improve.” With that, Aizawa closed the door in your face. You growled out and angrily continued unpacking. This will be fun.
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Even if you were being sarcastic, living with the man was absolutely not fun. Aizawa's criticism and nagging got worse, and now he's deluded to actually fucking lecturing you like you were a kid.
You were hanging up old pictures of family members, along with scening paintings and newspapers with you in them.  Aizawa came out of his room, baggy clothes as usual and stopped you.
“Are you serious? Not only are you being extremely loud for eleven p.m., but you’re already putting holes in the new walls. You’re not even using the right nails, they’re going to snap after a few months of use.” He grabbed the hammer out of your hands, along with the nails you had in your other hand.
“I’m not even being that loud, plus who cares, I’m going to hang stuff up eventually why does it matter?” You tried to grab your supplies back, but Aizawa leaned away from you so it was out of your grasp.
“Because this is a shared living space, it’s rude to just hang stuff up without permission.” He set the tools on the ground, accidentally kicking over your pictures.
“Oh I’m sorry, do I need to ask you when to take a shit too?” You slightly lunged at him, puffing your chest out.
“Stop acting like a child, is it so hard to respect basic formalities?” Aizawa asked you, staring you down.
“Stop acting like a dick, is it so hard to be nice?” You threw his words back in his face, already pissed off.
“Enough, I’m tired already and you’re only putting a damper on my mood.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, turning back to his room. You found out he stole the larger room, with the walk-in closet and bathroom, leaving you with a tiny closet and no personal bathroom.
That was kinda how you two had been living for the past week, constant bickering over every single thing. Maybe he left stains on the tupperware and cups because of his horrid coffee addiction, or maybe you left your mess in the way of the living space, or maybe one of you just breathed too hard. Whatever it was, it started angry arguing with one or both of you storming out. 
Whatever, recently you started to train in one of the personal gyms at the school, taking out your anger on the environment around you instead of murdering your roommate. That was our only place of solace, being able to jump and crawl around and hone in on your close combat. To be honest, it had been lacking, and the event at the camp left you self-conscious and hesitant. Noting the lights were already on, you walked in and dropped your bag at the door, gathering some light to use as stepping stools later. Quickly swapping your sweatpants and sweater for your hero suit, you walked out of the changing room and froze when you saw a figure right beside you. 
Stepping out of the male changing room.
“Are you stalking me?” You turned to him, already angry.
“I could ask you the same thing, you seem to follow me wherever I go.” He snapped back, adjusting his capturing scarf. 
“Because you’re always there. Like, I can’t even take a piss without you popping out of the corner to tell me the amount of toilet paper I’m using is wrong.”
“That’s an inappropriate example.” He watched you storm off, going to your corner of the gym to start your practice. You quickly climbed in the air, running across the left side of the gym while doing flips and jumps. 
You could feel his cold gaze on you, analyzing your every move and jump. Self-conscious, you tripped mid-jump and panicked, years of hero instincts out the window. Your quirk deactivated, and you could feel yourself free falling through the air. You are fully prepared to hit the hard ground, tensing up your body to prepare for impact. 
Instead of hitting the hard cement, large hands wrapped around you, holding your back and stomach protectively.
“Are you not a hero? What was that?” Aizawa growled, quickly standing you up and holding your shoulders while he looked you over.
“I got nervous! I panicked!” You shocked him away, holding yourself.
“Nervous about what? You were doing fine.” 
“You! I could feel you judging me, so I just tripped and I freaked out!” Yelling at him, you missed his hand clutching over his heart.
“Freaked out? What if there was a student in danger, what if you were in danger?” His voice was getting as loud as yours was.
You clenched your fists, nails digging painfully in your palm. “Why do you care so much?”
Aizawa went silent after that, his face angry but he himself was quiet.
There was a heavy pause, he seemed to mull something over and you just sat angry at him.
“Because I will not let my staff be weak.” You looked away, already done with the conversation, done with him.
“I’m leaving, I’m done.” You tried to stroll past him, but he stuck out a hand.
“Wait.” You glared at him, and the bottom half of his face was engulfed with his scarf. “Train with me, let’s spar together.”
“Why would I ever-”
“Let me finish. It’ll allow me to train you to be better, and would let you get your frustrations out on me.”
That was..odd for Aizawa. You couldn’t deny the idea of beating Aizawa into the ground didn’t seem fun, but the idea of him being a teacher to you made you feel a type of way. You thought about it for a moment, but eventually, your anger won you over.
“Fine, but don’t blame me if you walk into your classroom limpiING-” Your sentence was cut off when Aizawa swept his feet under you, knocking you into the ground. You lay on the ground, arms flexing with the burning desire to knock his teeth out. 
“You’re on asshole.”
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His strong hands clutching you, only there for seconds while he threw you to the ground, his dark eyes following your every movement, fast and calculating, the way he was so sure of his movements, fast and strong.
Those were images and thoughts that ran in your head when you stepped into the shower, hands delicate over blooming bruises and scratches. You managed to get a couple of good hits on him, your knuckles still raw when you clocked him right in the jaw and your legs slightly shaking when you pushed him off of you. Aizawa never fully gave you the chance to use your quirk, allowing you to fully focus on hand-to-hand combat, his specialty. 
“You need to work more on your confidence and ability in close combat. Tomorrow we’ll do the same thing.” His monotone voice was a little more tired than usual, and he held an ice pack to the same spot where you punched him. 
“Same time?” Your voice was just as tired, and you barely kept in a yawn. He simply nodded in response, turning in for the night.
Those interactions, those thoughts kept you up all night, wondering why thoughts of him infected your mind.
You turned over, needing sleep to make lesson plans and help with schedule planning.
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At first, training with Aizawa was fine, not great, but not exactly bad. But over the recent few weeks, he seemed to get even meaner than before, if that was even possible. You learned quickly he was holding back on you, and it made your class time very awkward.
"Hey, Ms. where'd you get those bruises from?"
"Rough night?"
It was embarrassing, especially the rougher he got.
"Fuck." You coughed, a swift kick in the chest downed you, and now you leaned over on your knees panting for breath. "Jesus dude, this is just training not the real fucking thing." You looked up at him, hand cupping your injury.
"You could have easily avoided that. I overestimated your skills. Get up." He didn't even sound sorry.
"Let me catch my breath first damn." 
"No, get up. Do you think a villain will give you the same opportunity?" He taunted, hands on his hips while he looked down at you. 
"I would've blinded the villain by now, give me a break." You waved him off, and he took the opportunity to grab your hand and haul you up.
"Or they could've killed you by now. You need to be stronger. Get ready." Aizawa quickly got into stance, fists ready to punch you again.
"Aizawa. Give me five fucking minutes, that hurt like a bitch." You backed up, creating a wide berth between the two of you. 
He stood up, and because of his baggy hero suit, you couldn't see he was still flexing his muscles. 
"See, was that so hard?" You sighed, rubbing at your chest. Taking a deep breath in, you looked up and closed your eyes. You yelled out when suddenly he tackled you to the ground, flipping you over to twist your arm.
You scratched at your bandages, fucker gave you a goddamn professional indian burn. A while back some of your advanced kids took their finals, each had to write three different essays about three different historical moments in their lives, in hero history, and Japanese history. You had put off grading them until the summer break since that was what you were originally planning to do at the start of the break. It was hard to grade so many papers when your arms and hands hurt like a bitch, and it was hard to focus with an achy body that hurt all over. 
Groaning, you threw your head back and sighed, feeling a major headache growing on your head.
"What's your problem?" Aizawa's voice came from behind you, opening your eyes you saw his upside-down form sipping from a kitty cat coffee mug.
"Other than you, these goddamn papers. I put them off and now I have too much work to do." You sat back up, picking up your red glitter pen. You heard him sit beside you, the couch dipping under his weight. Aizawa picked up a random paper, skimming over it while he placed down his coffee cup.
"If you can't do it by yourself-"
"I can, thank you very much."
"-then I suppose I could help you. It doesn't seem that complicated." He shrugged, quickly putting his thick hair up in a bun. You watched his hands, and heat pooled in your cheeks at the sight. Even after all this time, you still couldn't deny the aggravating man wasn't attractive. His strong and long neck which was usually hidden was just so…hot. For lack of a better word, it made you feel like a medieval man seeing a woman's ankles for the first time.
"That's because that's one-third of the students' final, and that's the personal essay. If you want, you can do the personal ones while I do the hero and Japanese ones." You pushed the large stack of papers towards him, handing him a black glitter pen. His thick fingers slightly curled around your hand at the contact, making you swallow. 
"Seriously? Do you not have any normal pens?" He asked, deadpanned.
"Nope." You turned away quickly, drinking some water to cool your body. What was wrong with you? 
You scratched at your bandages again, wishing you could just rip them off. Suddenly, hands engulfed your forearm. 
You turned over to your injury, seeing pale olive hands adjusting your bandages. You looked up with wide eyes and watched him fix them for you. 
"Stop messing with them. You're going to agitate it more, and it will be more painful tomorrow." Aizawa's voice was firm, but his hands were so soft. So caring and gentle, fingers kindly moving them so they covered up everything. He looked up at you, awaiting whatever snappy response you had.
"You're agitating." 
And for a moment no one did anything. The only sound was the whirring of the AC and the tick tick ticking of the analog clock above the kitchen doorway.
"You're infuriating." Aizawa responded, but there was no bite in his voice. Subtlety, every so subtlety, you two inched forward. His strong hand left your forearm to your shoulder, and you dropped your pen to inch your hand to his thigh. 
You could feel your heart pounding in your chest, eyes solely focused on him.
You didn't know when, or where, or even why but sometime from when you met Aizawa to now, you sought for him everywhere. Even when he pissed you off more than anyone, you still wanted him to look at you, talk to you. You were the one always inviting him for drinks and hangouts with the staff, always tagging him along when you stayed at Hizashi's house. Even if he hated it, you always sent him cat memes and tiktoks, or sent him videos about coffee or teacher hacks. And every time he would grumble or complain something about professionalism or how it was stupid of you to do so. But every time, he'd respond, every time he tagged along, and he would even send you tiktoks back, things he thought you'd like.
It had always been him. And it was always you.
You were so close, your hand on his chest, his heart was hammering, almost as fast as yours, and his hand was splayed on your back, holding you. So close.
"OH FUCK! GET IT!"
That broke you both out of your trance, both of you pulled your hands back like they burned.
You quickly looked at the coffee table in front of you, staring down while your white knuckles your knees.
Aizawa cleared his throat but said nothing.
"EEEEE!"
Hizashi's loud squealing reverberated around the home, and you laughed. Mostly out of nerves, but still laughed.
Aizawa sighed, cursing under his breath. "Fucking Hizashi and his fear of bugs." 
Wiping a tear from your eye, (from embarrassment maybe?) you turned to look at him. Aizawa was also pointedly avoiding eye contact and had already snatched up the pen and paper again.
"I remember watching the footage from your guys' finals, that shit was hilarious." You giggled, face still red. 
"Not so much when he ran to the emergency showers screaming his goddamn head off. I had to follow him to make sure he didn't blow the damn building away." With quick hands he put down his hair again, but not before you saw how red his ears had become. Not only that, but you saw him trying to hide his shaky hands.
Leaning over you also continued your work, like you were supposed to, ignoring the butterflies in your stomach and the raging blush you were sure you had. 
Later that night, laying alone in your bed you screamed into your pillow. A horrifying realization that was going to make your life so much harder.
You hated Shouta Aizawa as much as you loved him. And you were almost sure he felt the same.
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HOT DAMN, OVER 11K WORDSSSSS. literally crying /j this is now my magnum opus. i hope this gets at least one like because FUCK lmao
anyways, was planning on writing an alt ending but idk, eat up bitches. reqs are still open lmao. also if yall want specific emojis for anon that's okay
edit; literally pissed, i used the wrong name for present mic, I used his last name instead of his first km, dw I fixed it so his dialogue makes more sense now
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spotlightlowlife · 4 months
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Mammon is the best written character in Helluva Boss!
He reflects the 'sins' of others back at them, audience included.
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Was he a worst boss than Blitzø?
Was young Blitzø right to try and hinder Fizz's dreams?
See through her successful execution, was Bee not just as shallow business friendly?
Is he any more responsible for the sxxbots than Ozzie?
Was Ozzie withholding the foundation Fizz was frantically looking for as he tried to talk him out of the pageant, only revealing it and handing it over when he give up trying something that's just fine?
Do Fizz's other bad experiences pale in comparison to working with Mammon?
Bosses are bad, parents suck and anyone with power is an issue really, they upset the fav and if it's a problematic fav, well it's this baddies fault.
Formulaic? Yes.
I like this show and have no issue admitting it's definitely guilty of all these, case in point with the character in question, an employer and royalty who refers to his victum as child, stepchild and granchild, but this show has an additional villain common theme, which is sex and lack of.
Where Verosika is an actual sucubus and former love interest of Blitzø and Barbie debuted manipulating a teenage boy, Mammon instead comes from a long line of de-sexualised non throw away adversaries, following in the footsteps of business bad dad Paimon, failing business bad dad Buckzo and self made widower bad dad Crimson, along with the "prude" angels and Striker, who Millie's parents were very fond of whilst openly disproving of Millie's choice of husband in Moxxie, who struck up a one sided rivalry with Striker, only Striker wasn't interested in either of them.
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Mammon joins this club by showing his discomfort at the prospect of producing sexbots, quickly rebuking any potential critics in words of pure projection. Years later these dolls have low gone down well because they are marketed in all areas, though their appears to still be little appreciation for them as first one we meet is poorly maintained dispite being a host at a large family amusement park.
Still, he made the bots work even though it wasn't for him. Ironically it is Ozzie the prince of lust who manufactures the dolls, yet the doll proposal (which the audience were made aware of) and assumed business collaboration between the two princes was a thing before Fizz chose entered the (optional) competition, won and found fame, yet now Ozzie has caught feelings for Fizz there's now issue with his sxdolls existing and who's fault is this?
Another thing Mammon appeared to talk down on was pageants, but still, he stepped back from his "clown stuff" he "doesn't even do [clown stuff] anymore" and into that boss, mentor/instructor/agent, stage parent role to train who ever happened to win the pageant, his methods are reminiscent of many of those who rigidly train performing artists, like it or not.
It was a disingenuous claim for Ozzie to make that Mammon has done nothing for Fizz, better performer maybe, doesn't need that gig definitely, but a dislike of someone doesn't equal they're good for nothing as much as people get comfortable believing and this invalidates Fizz's stress, guilt and loyalty based on feelings of debt and inadequacy.
Fizz needed the confidence to be able to move on, his situation wasn't an unrelatable one, there's nothing wrong with taking all you have gained, bidding farewell and leaving certian situations behind. Though the episode moved in the 'business is bad, bosses are bad' direction, yet still Mammon was the one to make this turn fun.
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Seriously though, we only ever hear of business in passing from Stolas, Ozzie or Bee, Bee and Ozzie getting to have nothing but fun whilst fulfilling their role, getting up close and personal, forming loving relationships with those at the very bottom of the social structure we are supposed to believe is a thing. Mammon on the other hand, insincere affection and vulgarity aside, was rather professional - as insincere as his interest in wellbeing may be he did still show up when Fizz stalker approached to ask how Fizz was and did offer to let Glitz and Glam performe first which was undeniably helpful, even if it was just to get back on track. He was consistent with his work and purpose, who didn't let us know of any interests outside of work, we never know what is his opinion, so was the "women just aren't funny" remark, that wasn't a joke and was retracted later, based on sales, as he really didn't care who entered or won any of the pageants and the context was to not waste anyone's time?
Is he more chauvinistic than Fizz and Blitzø who referred to Glitz and Glam as "bitches", "snatches" and "sluts"?
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Another remark was Fizz's supposed weightgain, again, not a joke, just who does constantly put up with totally uncalled for fat jokes at work? Moxxie. Blitzø would react to a weight gain remark directed at Fizz but unlike Mammon who took back a previous statement without really needing to, do we get the impression that Blitzø now regrets partaking in fat jokes aimed at his most erratic employee?
In Blitzø we get someone who isn't very professional, who is overly personal and aggressive with his employees, whose screen time has deviated from the business he made the effort to set up, who doesn't listen to idea or reason, knows best and makes poor business decisions such as spending a chunk of money advertising on a tv station that hardly has viewers. Pilot matters, content is content.l for us to eat up.
Blitzø let's Fizz know that he's being spoken to in a way he shouldn't, yet within his almost every communication with Moxxie being cruel, he too has behaved in a dismissive toxic positive way, remember the party thrown for Moxxie who had to do something he felt conflicted in doing then didn't feel good about it later? Who cared if he enjoyed himself.
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Moxxie's behaviour during the recent summer camp episode was heavily down to finally getting the freedom work without being shot down, berated, threatened and ignored. He would go on to realise that his desperation to work his vision resulted in him not listening to Millie and being insensitive and he corrected himself. Great character development, in an episode were we followed the main characters at work, something we do half the time.
On the subject of work.
All those years ago, why exactly did Blitzø cringe the very moment Mammon proposed the pageant that would have the winner work with him? Because he didn't want to risk Fizz leaving his side, he made that clear, he even strategically answered but not really Fizz's question about if he could win, but what shadowed this was his later decision that the show turned out to be a waste of his savings, there were too many clowns and Mammon puked and passing out on stage. Same Blitzø who was enthused to be there, showed no disdain to clowns and had no plans to leave his family circus, dumping on Fizz's dreams out of nervousness at things changing and being left behind.
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Fast forward and the once mild mannered Blitzø has grown into an obnoxious exhibitionist whose antisocial behaviour has caused him loneliness, dispite being very supportive at times. We have seen get blackout drunk when centre of attention and spew. Still, all these years later, we have no hindsight but Blitzø knows Mammon is a phoney who he saw through, but what does he base this on? 'Extortion', the slip Blitzø didn't react to?
Up until this episode Fizz was doing very well for himself, he was famous as he had wanted to be, he lived a happy life of riches, fun job and pushing lust with his sugar daddy lover, who is royalty, who he wakes up to each morning, who manufactures his dolls?
Fizz had only been the reigning pageant champion for 10 years, wasn't the accident and his fall out with Blitzø prior to this? Until we follow Fizz, who is very irritated at Blitzø's presence, there's no proof of Mammon being a bad boss. Fizz was insecure about his appearance, from a recent injury and the accident all those years ago which we were reminded of throughout the episode, in addition the pageant was a major source of stress as he had to do well, he had been holding the title of champion for a decade, who wouldn't be stressed?
Let's not forget that he also doubted Ozzie's love for him believing it to be down to his popularity.
Let's not forget his stalker who has been obsessed with him since he was still at home.
But we are used to seeing fun.
Ozzie, Bee and Mammon all hosted a big bash when we met them, they were all working, their guests made a choice to be there and their events were the place to be, only this time we got the employees perspective, think for those who work at restaurants, bars and nightclubs where the patrons enjoy themselves, it's not so fun on the other side and it's often the nepo folks who include lovers that have an easier time.
Work ain't fun most of the time.
Lastly.
Why was Mammon not allowed to be mad after allowing himself to be publicly roasted to a large crowd on his stage before having his greedy supply cut off, why would it be of any surprise that he would react? Bee and Ozzie were had no issues intimidating Loona, Mille and Moxxie for disrespecting them on their turf.
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When is it OK to proudly display and endorse control and bullying? When you're loved or lovable?
We have enjoyed a dark comedy built on power play and sarcasm, so what does it take to make these serious problems in the real world problematic? Someone who isn't there to be liked?
This is good writing.
There are too many writers involved to not know what they're doing. They are active online and the fanbase is rampant with their blind loyalty to the show and the character invested in by giving them simple brownie points. Too many wouldn't believe that I enjoy this series and like all the characters mentioned.
Mammon was created to out and troll the the fanbase.
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mileapo · 4 months
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Dynamic Duo Mile & Apo
With a warm personality, these two actors talked about cultural projects that represent soft power.
Harper's Bazaar (HB): What was your first impression of Indonesia? Mile (M): I have known Indonesia since elementary school and Indonesia seems to have a very interesting culture. The first impression when he was an adult came from feedback from Indonesian fans on social media . The moment I landed, I felt very familiar, like I was at home. Apo (A): The first impression of Indonesia for me came from Indonesian fans , because previously I only saw it on social media . This visit in Jakarta was the first moment I met them. Previously I had been to Bali and I felt that Bali had a good, cozy culture. Balinese people are also very friendly.
HB: Still talking about impressions. What was your first impression of each other? M: My impression when I first saw Apo was the character Zhan Zhao in the series Justice Bao (Zhan Zhao is Judge Bao's secretary) . At that time I first met Apo at a fashion show , that's where I realized the similarity. A: Mile was very friendly and gentle, it made a big impression on me. I officially met him at a fashion show . But apart from that I've met him at the gym. Actually, Mile and I studied at the same university. Mile is a senior, I am a junior, but in different majors. We are 2 or 3 years apart.
HB: How would you compare the completed projects you have worked on with ManSuang? What's special about this film? M: If we compare it, the format of the previous project was a series and this time the format is a film. There are differences between the two formats in terms of how they are produced. Then the things that stand out from the main theme of this film are the cultural, historical side, even the act of inspection. So a combination of main themes like this is very different from the previous one. A: My previous projects were generally roles in soap operas or series, they were long term. In the film ManSuang, the duration is only two hours. In ManSuang it seems like the audience shares their imagination with the characters in the film, while I feel that in soap operas the audience just watches. Apart from that, ManSuang is a story about Thailand , about the culture and stories about the people.
HB: Tell us about your tour to Jakarta this time. M: Our main goal here is actually to meet and greet fans directly. We want them to see the real ManSuang in Jakarta. We also try so that fans can watch our performance live on stage, even though we only show snippets of scenes from films. So far there are 4 cities in Asia that we will visit, Jakarta is the first. A: So in this tour we will bring the audience to feel the atmosphere inside ManSuang, which is an imaginary place that makes people happy. Moreover, this was the first moment the Be On Cloud team and Indonesian fans met in person, so this was a very beautiful experience.
HB: Talking about your character in ManSuang, what did you prepare to get into before filming? M: For me there are two ways, inside out and outside in. Not how to play it, but how to think about playing that role. Inside out is how I introduce the character named Chatra, how his life is, what his father and mother are like. And outside in is how to study the era of 1850 (this is the setting of the year in the film ManSuang) , what the culture was like at that time. For example, how people at that time interacted with foreigners, the way they spoke. In those days, people couldn't speak English or Chinese well, so if someone was able to do so, then he was someone special. There are differences in ways of speaking and behaving. We wanted to immortalize that moment. A: At first I learned about Khem's character. He loves dancing so I had to learn it before starting the shoot. I am from the generation that lives in the present, while Khem lives in the past, so I have to learn how the old people thought, danced, and what their thought patterns were. I have to train the flexibility of my fingers so that I can display the beauty of the dance, as well as practicing my body movements so that I can look like a picture in a painting. If you have ever visited a temple in Thailand, there are pictures of dancing on the walls. I tried to be like what was in the picture and ended up studying dance for 8 months. Then, apart from trying to show Thai culture, I also explored the character development of Khem .
HB: After finishing all this busy work, what would an ideal rest day look like for you? M: Basically I like everything related to guitar. Then I also like watching concerts, thirdly I like sports. Then lastly, I like to drink when I have free time. A: I like nature. Just sitting in the front yard of the house is already a break for me, the important thing is there must be delicious food or snacks .
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gremlingottoosilly · 1 year
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Just one shot [Military photographer!Reader x CoD characters] part two
You successfully escaped the hell of the art school — in debt, with nothing but your(shitty) camera, a diploma and disappointed parents who never understood your life choices. Being a part if the military wasn’t your first option, but what else can you do? And at least, people here are fun to work with…
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Content: female!Reader, lots of bad jokes, young!Reader, nationality is not stated but has a strong accent, a little bit of angst, I have really vague understanding of the army, Reader is short&not really strong, slow burn, Reader is shy and not very social
Character focus in this chapter: Soap, Gaz
🤨📸
Being one of the few women on base, who were not constantly engaging in combat or military trainings, had more downsides than benefits. You are not just weaker than your fellow soldiers, since your profession let you escape the gym as long as you wanted, but also more desirable to pick on. Short, shy, forced to talk to everyone so you make photos for the yearbook of each unit, while working exclusively alone — by all means, you are the perfect victim to evil pranks and not very clever romance attempts.
Right now, for example, you were clinging to your camera, while desperately trying to look for the way to escape a soldier’s grasp without making too much noise or attack him directly. You are good with riffles, and the camera is heavy enough to be considered a weapon — but still, you are not a close combat fighter.
Of course, this guy was trying to ask you out — a typical behavior for boys who haven’t been in touch with reality for a whole months straight, and were seeing you as an easy target. You hated this and you hates the feeling of helplessness that came with such situations — but there was mostly nothing you could do.
— Aye, mate. I would advise yer stop bothering our fine lassie out here and shut yer puss.
Oh.
There he is, your prince with mohawk and accent that you still can’t quite process.
You never knew that seeing his weirdly serious expression would make you cheeks blush, but you decided to blame it on the general anxiety of this situation. A recruit who was harassing you quickly disappeared after a friendly hand of Soap resting on his shoulder. You didn’t exactly knew what he was saying to him, but it was clear, that not something all fun and cheerful.
And still, Johny — even if would never dare to call him that — saved you. Now you were standing in the hallway, with your camera held close to your chest, and shaky, still unstable legs.
— Thank you, sergeant. I was…well, I wasn’t expecting him to being so stubborn about wanting to know me.
— Yer were standing here like a deer in headlights. He was quite a munter, but why didn’t you said anything, lassie?
— Thought we were alone and it would be useless. Plus, I was really worried that he could broke my camera if I would refuse him too harshly, so…yeah.
You tried to smile, to make some silly joke out of this situation, but Soap clearly wasn’t convinced. If anything, he looked even more worried — and placed one hand on your shoulder, gently squeezing soft skin under your jacket. He tilted his head, now looking a little bit like a bird — cute, curious one. You tried not to think about how pretty his concerned eyes were, but failed.
— Next time, you gonna bring yer arse to me second some hackit would try to bother you again. Got it?
Ah yes, because you really want to bother your very attractive superior about some idiots trying to get to you. On the other hand, however…he looked really worried. And it’s not like you would be constantly clinging by his side — even though you would still need a few photos for the 141 album.
It wouldn’t hurt, to hang out with him and the other members a little bit more, right? For purely professional purposes, of course, you don’t want to seem like a silly little recruit who is hanging out with people way out of her league. Even if this is true, and they are way too cool for someone like you.
📸📸📸
— I’m just not sure whether he likes me or just tolerates me. I get mixed signals and I’m terrible at reading them.
— Mate, if Soap would hates you, he’ll be very vocal about it. You can’t just shut him up most of the time, so I doubt he hates you. Seems like the opposite, really.
Gaz was the easiest person to get along with — and the most friendly as well. Your photoshoots quickly became a way for you to share latest gossips and just chat in each other’s company for a little bit. You liked having a friend like him — while not particularly close one, he was also very acceptable of your way of (over)thinking and shy personality.
And he looked great in sunglasses.
It’s funny, because you actually hated making photos of people in sunglasses, darker lenses would always direct light right into the lense and would mirror everyone in front of it, but Gaz somehow make it less terrible — while looking like a freaking superhero movie character.
— You sure? He always uses his dialects on me and, um, I know English, but he somehow makes me feel like I don’t.
— What kind of words does he using? And you can always ask him to just speak normal English, you know.
— This would be insensitive! I appreciate his culture and don’t want to seem like an ignorant jerk. And, erm, he is calling me bonnie all the time, which is weird, because I am clearly not a rabbit.
Gaz froze in place for a second — a perfect pose for you to make another photo. Then he bursted out in pure laughter and, quite frankly, you have no idea what so funny about Soap basically calling you a bunny without any reason.
— And I thought I am bad at clues. He likes you, for real, if he calls you this.
— Wait, then what…what does this mean?
Gaz laughed again — a pure sound that is forcing you to also start giggling a little bit, only saving a little bit more stability in the camera because of your professionally trained and experienced hands. You smiled, trying not to look at him too much — but really, Gaz is very pretty when he is smiling.
So making a lot more photos feels a little bit obligatory.
— It means that he called you pretty. Like really, really pretty. Scottish dialect and everything.
Soap…called you pretty? Oh no. Oh no, no, no, you can’t have that! You both needs to be professional and…well, you really should stop thinking about these two guys. Way out of your league. You just a photographer, and they are legends.
Gaz patted your shoulder, bringing you to a little but awkward, but still warm hug. And to be quite honest, you never wanted to break this hug. Ever. Especially when he was holding you gently, in a way that didn’t feel threatening. Making you smile every second of it.
Do you have a multiple attraction problem?
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v-anrouge · 3 months
Note
You’ve opened the flood gates of me and my love of dogs, so I’m giving EVERYONE a dog breed!
Riddle: bichon frisé, à very cutie small white puffball of a dog, but are high maintenance with their coats and mental stimulation. One of the smarter dog breeds, but also with a need to please. One of the healthiest dog breeds I know of (they never die! Like ever!), but with a need for schedules. Because of the need for mental stimulation, they are a breed that needs strict rules, and strict schedules or they get confused and frustrated.
Trey: some sort of Rottweiler. Laid back, family loving, happy to sit in the presence of others. Not overly large, but still needing exercise, but also happy to just sit on the couch. Also, I feel their stockier build best fits Trey
Cater: shih tzu or Pekingese, both are one of the most ancient breeds, once only allowed to only be owned by the royal Chinese family, some where even given standings in courts! They adore attention, and affection, but tend to only listen to a select few, if any. Cater is a difficult character to get to trust, much like a shih tzu, but I feel once he does trust you he’s attached at the hip much like a Pekingese
Deuce: pit bull. There is no other dog breed I can think of for Deuce that fits as well as a pittie! Tough and aggressive? Yes. Also a loving big baby? Yes. When trained properly, pits are great dogs, but because they can have short tempers, it’s best to not leave them unaccompanied around children. They’re STRONG, so people who can’t wrestle one to the ground if needed shouldnt own one.
Ace: Affenpincher, sassy brats of dogs who would die for their people but refuse to listen to them. One of the more “human like” dogs as they will hold a grudge, and they’ve got an attitude to rival a sassy toddler!
Leona: basset hound, stubborn, can be lazy, but when they put their minds (or noses) to something nothing gets them off track! While bassets aren’t the smartest breeds, I think they fit enough for Leona to be an outlier (nearly said Rhodesian ridgeback because they were breed to hunt lions! Lol)
Ruggie: (hyenas are closer related to cats than they are dogs! But they actually have their own class so whatever) I struggled! But I think lab fits best. They’re basically walking stomachs, and will do anything for food! They are easy to train when given treats, but also have a tendency to just start doing tricks if you’re eating something they want. Intelligent, and friendly reminds me of Ruggie.
Jack: dogo Argentino. A dog if more popular would give pits a run for their money with the villianization! STRONG dogs, we’re originally bread to hunt wild boars, they’re tough dogs! And while extremely loyal, they have a tendency to refuse to attack who they deem as friends. Super courageous (that word took me four tries to spell) they’re high energy with a need to please their people!
Azul: Japanese Akita, loyal but reserved around strangers, these are smart dogs! They tend to be more socially difficult when around other dogs, tending to snap and resource guard, but with their people they are ready to share, sometimes… they’re more reserved with affection, but if you get down they won’t refuse some love and kisses
Jade: Basenji, also known as Africa’s “backless dog” is a silent but intelligent hunting breed! They tend to hide in the shadows before striking, but also love their few people they allow in their circle. NOT family dogs as they don’t like many people, but great for a small household.
Floyd: Central Asian Shepard, NOT FOR MOST DOG OWNERS! I’ve got my gripes! CSA are dogs that NEED jobs, they’re breed to protect livestock in Mangolia and Northern China. These dogs are powerful, and known to hunt down wolves nearby! But they’re babies with their owners, even if they prefer staying outdoors, they won’t turn down a snack or cuddle. But also indépendant where they’ll find their own food
Kalim: golden retriever, loving, friendly, though not the smartest, just a ball of sunshine.
Jamil: Chinese crested (one of my favorite breeds!) are smart, sassy dogs who LIVE for praise. They tend to be picky eaters, and don’t always do well with other dogs as they can be attention hogs, but they are also breed to hunt rats on Chinese trading shops, so they need a lot of exercise
Vil: standard poodle, OR a doberman (partly cause dobies are one of my favorite breed!) both are extremely intelligent, but also can be aggressive when around new dogs as they like being incharge.
Rook: borzoi coonhound mix. Originally I said fox hound, but coonhounds have a sleeker look, and a friendlier personality. Borzois are gorgeous and would die for their people, but are dumb as a box of rocks. Coonhounds are not as pretty, but not ugly either, and known to live for praise. Both are hunting breeds and need their exercise, or they will find some way to exercise (coonhounds are also escape artists)
Epel: i can only see Epel as a yorkie. Big personality, underestimated, super pretty, need of mental and physical stimulation. It just fits him perfectly!
Idia: Carolina, shy and suspicious little buggers who prefer quiet homes, with little activity’s around. But they need their mental stimulation as well. Not the smartest breed, but not the dumbest, they’re independence can get them into trouble though.
Ortho: English Cocker Spaniel (Lady from Lady and the Tramp) are friendly, sweet and loving dogs. They will bend over backwards for their people, and are just some of the sweetest dogs I have ever met!
Malleus: Komodor, the dog that looks like a mop. They’re strong sheepdogs who are willing to die to protect their flock. Soft and docile around their people, but reserved around strangers, they can even come off as agressive when you’re just starting to know them.
Lilia: Icelandic Sheepdog, the only breed from Iceland! Friendly, faithful and charming, their such sweeties! They do their job then come trotting back for a pat.
Silver: German Shepard, strong, sturdy, and protective. One of the best guard dog breeds I can think of, and amazing to train! Ready to please, and ready to play!
Sebek: bull terrier, head strong, loyal, and can be downright aggressive in their love! Their the dog to bowl you over when you get home! They’re hard working dogs who need exercise!
I really love dogs man!
How does it feel to be 100% correct and right 🎤
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