#the idea I had is that strawberry shortcake is her magical girl name | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

butterfly-lies-chase-them-away · 2 years

Note

don't stand so close to me idea:

ok so i was thinking of something more fluffy rather than smut, what if reader suggested they bake something(strawberry shortcake) and bruno agrees to this and they use his kitchen, reader then realizes bruno can't help bake since he still has papers to attend to, so she keeps begging him to help bc she wants to bond w/ him and when he finally gives in, bruno tries to snatch some strawberries away and reader tells him off, then they just mess around with the flour and smear it all on each others faces, just alot of fluff and cuteness, okay so maybe this CAN have smut(since y'know you have to bake and refrigerate the cake for a bit ig we can have smut here) after that the kitchen is just overall a MESS flour everywhere, sink is full of dishes but that doesn't matter bc they enjoy the cake in each others embrace while cuddling and being kissy with each other ^ _ ^♡♡

-also can i be 🌺 anon? or 💟

(Don’t Stand So Close To Me (18+) (Part 8)

Teacher!Bruno Madrigal x Student!Fem!Reader

Modern Day!Imagine

Non-Magic AU

Summary: After their cute little picnic, Bruno and reader go back to his house to make a strawberry shortcake

Warnings: Smut, swearing, Age gap, inappropriate thoughts, teacher/student (STUDENT IS OF AGE), sir kink, Papi/daddy kink, praise kink, unprotected sex, fluff

Word Count: 2466

Italics will mostly be his direct thoughts or his imagination

Author Note: Sorry I took a while to post this part, I was really onto it at first and almost finished until I woke up from a dream where Bruno cheated on me with my sister and I haven't been able to think since, but I'm over it now because well...it was a dream, lol. oh yeah! and the rats are named after my friend's rats (Mozzarella and Feta)

Don't Stand So Close To Me (Masterlist)

(Part 7) >(Part 8)< (Part 9)

(I do not own this gif)

Bruno POV

"Can we make a strawberry shortcake instead?" she asked just as I finished grabbing out everything for cookies.

"You couldn't have said that earlier?" I breathed out a laugh.

"Sorry," she giggled.

"It’s okay, baby. I'm not too sure how to make one but if you could get the ingredients, we can start".

She put away the things we wouldn't need and grabbed out the rest. She handed a bowl over to me, along with the hand mixer, cream, icing sugar and vanilla essence.

“You can beat the cream”.

A poured a generous amount of cream and other ingredients in the bowl, switching on the mixer. From the corner of my eye, I could see her bouncing around the room, grabbing items and putting others out of the way. I also caught her sneaking a strawberry or two. I smiled to myself, admiring the cutie I somehow managed to get my hands on.

No man is luckier than I am.

I must have been staring for a while, because you turned to me, smiling before rushing over, turning off the mixer.

“You nearly turned it to butter!”

I finally looked back down at my bowl to see the very thick cream that I had just whipped.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” I chuckled.

“Now you can help me get all the dry ingredients together!”

She pushed the large bag of flour over to me. As I scooped the flour into the measuring cup and as I dropped it into the bowl, a white cloud filled the room, covering both of us.

“Bruno!”

Her laughter was contagious. She dug her hand in the bag, throwing a heap at me. I followed suit, grabbing into the bag, chucking the powder on her dress. She laughed twice as hard this time. This frenzy went on for a good while, leaving the both of us covered in flour.

“I’m gonna have no flour left,” I breathed out a laugh.

“Okay! I will mix it this time and you can add in the things,” she instructed me.

She began to beat the leftover ingredients as I slowly added the wet and dry ingredients. I tried to focus on the ingredients this time and not the gorgeous girl next to me.

My beautiful Cariño. I’d never seen a more addicting person to look at.

Everything was in the bowl now and she was mixing it all together.

“Could you grab the cake tin?” she pointed over to the side of the bench with the cake tin.

I retrieved it, passing it over to her. The cake tin was already greased up so there was no need for me to do anything else with it. The tin wasn’t that wide but it was tall. She poured the batter into the tin, tapping it on the bench to even it out more in the tin. She had already preheated the oven while I was too busy admiring her beauty while whipping the cream. She put the cake in the oven, setting a timer for 35 minutes.

“Well, we have a while for the cake to bake, sooo what should we do?” I asked, turning to her.

She stepped closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“I could think of a few things,” she mumbled, pressing kisses to my neck.

I hummed in agreement, knowing exactly what was going on inside her head.

“Yeah? And what would that be?” I rubbed my hands up and down the side of her body.

“I think you know…Papi”.

A smirk makes its way up my lips as I wrapped my arms further around her body. I pressed my lips into her, pushing my tongue past her lips, tasting the sweet taste of strawberries on her tongue. She tried to chase my lips as I pulled back to look at her flushed face.

“Wanna head to my room?”

“How about the living room?” she asked, running her hands through my hair, “don’t want the timer to go off and not hear it”.

I gave her a quick kiss before dragging her to the living room, her giggling like a schoolgirl. I dropped myself onto the couch pulling her down onto my lap, her legs on either side of mine. Grabbing my face, she captured my lips between her, kissing me passionately.

I set my hands on the plush skin of her thighs, kneading the flesh to my heart's desire. I slid my hands up her dress, slowly making my way up to the soft fabric that covered her precious parts. She picked herself off of my lap, pulling the little fabric down her legs.

She jumped back onto my lap, bringing her hands up to my ruana, tugging at it slightly. I sat up slightly, giving myself room to take it off without having to move her. Before I could drop it to the side, she took it from my hands, putting it on herself. She looked absolutely magnificent wearing a piece of my clothes, like a goddess even.

She looks like she’s mine.

I grabbed the back of her head, pulling her neck closer to my neck to give her light love bites just below her ear. She moaned, grinding her unclothed heat on my growing bulge. My breathing became heavy and she moved above me.

“I need you now, sir,” she whimpered.

She reached down to the drawstring on my pants, pulling at the strings to loosen my pants. With fast hands, she took a hold of my throbbing cock, releasing it from the layers of clothes. I looked back into her lust-filled eyes, breathing quickly.

“You don’t wanna play first, Cariño?”

“I need you now!” she whined.

“Okay, baby,” I breathed out.

She rubbed the tip of my cock along her soaking entrance, coating it with the dripping juices. As she sunk down onto my member, I couldn’t help but let out an airy moan, resting my head on the back of the couch. I felt as she planted kisses along the side of my neck and as she slowly began to rock her hips back and forth along my dick. I grabbed either side of her hips, helping her move. She grabbed onto the back of my knees, leaned back slightly and began to bounce on my cock. The beautiful noises she made echo along with walls, the noises she only made for me.

Her moans, fuck me.

“Fuck, you sound amazing, please, don’t stop,” I begged.

This encouraged her to let all her sounds out. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, she was absolutely gorgeous above me while wearing my ruana, bouncing on my cock, I couldn’t get enough of the sight in front of me.

“If only you could see yourself, fffuck-” I slur of moans spilled from my lips, “y-you look like a goddess, baby, and you’re all for me”.

“Y-yes, daddy, all y-yours”.

She leaned forward again, resting her forehead on mine. I stared right at her closed eyes, wanting her to see how much pleasure she gave me.

“Look at me baby, look at how you make me feel,” I breathed.

With half-lidded eyes, she managed to hold eye contact with me.

“That’s right, mi Vida. Look at Papi and see how you make him feel”.

I brought one of my hands up to rest behind her neck while the other slid down between her legs. I used my fingers to search around to find her clit, pinching and rubbing it slightly, trying to bring her orgasm along quicker. A spew of moans spilled from her lips, not able to hold eye contact anymore, she threw her head back.

“I-I-I’m cl-lose,” she babbled.

“Me too, Amor, I’m nearly there,”

But she had already begun to shake. From her legs up, her entire body shook violently as she rode out her orgasm. This helped me along to reach my own climax. I spilled my creamy seed into her as she was coming down from her high.

I collapsed onto my side, pulling her down with me. We sat there for a while, trying to come down from the aftermath of sex. I felt her breathing slow down a bit more until she was completely calmed down. I gave her forehead a long kiss, pulling her into my chest.

“You good, mi Amor?”

She nodded, “yes, thank you”.

I gave her a quick kiss before pushing myself up and off the couch. I grabbed the tissue box, grabbed out a couple, turning back to her to clean her up. As I began lifting her leg, she whined a little, clamping her legs shut.

“Can a clean you up, sweetheart?” I asked, rubbing her thighs a little.

“Not yet,” she objected.

“Okay baby, but I’ll have to clean you up at some point, I don’t want you to be all dirty,” I said, cleaning myself instead.

After throwing the tissue away, I made my way back to the couch, lifting her head up to rest on my lap. She always got sleepy after sex, so I wanted to let her have a little rest before doing anything else.

Just as I was getting comfortable, the alarm on the oven went off. She groaned a little, about to get up before I held her shoulder, stopping her.

“Don’t worry about that, baby, I’ll get it, you just rest”.

I quickly made my way to the kitchen after letting her settle back down. I turned the oven off, pulled the risen cake out and let it cool down on the bench. As I made my way back to the living room, I could hear her little snores, indicating she was already in a deep slumber. I smiled to myself.

How did I get so lucky?

I picked her up a little, to let her rest back down on me. She subconsciously wrapped her arms around my waist like a pillow, trying to pull me in closer. I chuckled a little and started stroking my hand down the side of her body.

⌛

I had apparently fallen asleep without realising as I jolted myself awake, still with her rest on my lap. I turned my gaze over to the clock on the wall, seeing that it had been about an hour since I had taken the cake out of the oven.

I gently shook her shoulder, “wake up now, mi Vida”.

Begrudgingly, she slowly opened her eyes, lifting herself up with a pout. I smiled at her, giving her a peck on the lips.

“Is my baby still tired?”

She slapped my chest, lightly. I chuckled before standing up.

“Come on darling, you go to the bathroom first and then we can finish the cake together,” I said, leading her to the bathroom.

She does as she’s told and goes to the bathroom to freshen up a bit. I ventured off to the kitchen, grabbing everything from the fridge that we would need to finish the cake. A couple minutes later, she had finally walked into the room, looking a lot brighter than before.

“Okay! Time to finish the cake,” she clapped her hand together.

I grabbed the cake, removed it from the cake tin and placed it on the bench. She walked over to where the knives were kept, taking the serrated knife from the stand. My heart skipped a beat.

“Be Careful with that, sweetheart,” I worried.

“Don’t worry, I will~”

She angled the knife on its side and began cutting the cake through the middle. I felt my hand sweating watching her use such a dangerous knife. She successfully separated the two pieces, placing them beside each other.

"Time for the cream and strawberries!"

She put a huge dollop of the cream in the centre of the cake, using the spatula to spread the whipped cream evenly on top of the cake. I cut the leaves on the strawberries off, passing them to her as I did. After placing them on the cake she pauses looking at it for a second.

"We should put some strawberry jam in it too," she ventured off the pantry, grabbing the jam out.

We spread some of the jam between the strawberries before we added another layer of cream, just to fill the gaps before placing the other half of the cake back on.

This time, we spread the cream out a lot nicer and laid the strawberries on the edge of the cake to make it more presentable. We stepped back to take in the finished cake.

"It looks amazing!" she cheered, hugging me from the side.

I wrapped my arm around he should, being careful not to dirty her with my messy hands. The kitchen was covered in flour and dirty dishes sitting beside the sink, waiting to be cleaned.

"I'll clean the kitchen up a bit, you can go out and rest or something," I said, kissing the top of her head.

"Could I play with your rats, please?" She looked up at me with the cutest eyes.

"Of course, you can, baby".

She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before rushing out to retrieve them. I looked around at the mess and sighed.

"Better get started," I said to myself, putting the cake in the fridge.

⌛

About 30 minutes later, the room was basically spotless, the dishes all put away and the flour now cleaned off the various places it was thrown.

I made my way to the living room to find her sprawled out on the ground, more than likely asleep, somehow managing to keep my pet rats on her. I smiled at the sight and sat down beside her. I picked Mozzarella and Feta off of her stomach, taking them back to their cage, in the laundry room.

I crouched down next to her, rubbing her shoulder to wake her up.

“Are you tired baby?” I asked, softly.

She nodded her head slightly.

“Well,” I clapped my hands together, “we need to get cleaned up first”.

“I’m tired though!”

I sighed, “you can have a little nap then and then we will have to clean you, okay?”

She nodded again.

“Come on”.

She stretched her arms up for me to pick her up. I wrapped my arms around her, letting her cling onto me while I picked her up like a child. I carried her to my bedroom and placed her on the bed.

“I’m gonna have a now shower, okay baby?” I said, grabbing clothes to change into.

“Can I come?”

I pause, turning to look at her, confused.

“What?”

“Can I come?” she repeated.

“Uhh, I guess?” I said, still a bit confused.

“Yay!” she jumped up from her spot.

She grabbed some clothes from one of my draws before following me into the bathroom.

Author Note: I'm not too good a fluff but I tried and I hope you still liked it. Thank you for reading this, if you'd like to see the following parts, please feel free to join the taglist by saying down in the comments.

Taglist: elfwoodfae diannaey rennaisancebaby fapqueen scarletambitions nik-barinova little-spooky-ghost-girl dylansoldhair r0ck3n1buk11 hoeboat101 nervoussubjectappreciator kuilty biafbunny sad0ni0n alinafaustina elitalover jessicarosequinzelfleck ike-bana

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4aloysius-porteu · 3 years

Text

i really wish i hated you || tsukishima kei

masterlist | 1 | chapter 2 | 3

pairing: tsukishima kei x f! reader

sypnosis: It was an accident that (Y/N) met a certain tall, blonde male; a memory she isn't fond of remembering, but it is where it all started. And ever since, she magically makes her to his path. The image of the bespectacled man dwelled in her mind more than she thought. Tsukishima pushed away his softer emotions and denied their existence, or at least that's what he told himself. But then, he couldn't believe that this girl he labeled as a clumsy, unlucky creature who smashed his glasses is slowly bringing these strange emotions back to him. She might be irritating and dumb sometimes, but he couldn't get himself to completely hate her. Either that destiny was stupid, or he was blessed or cursed.

genre: fanfiction, fluff

wc: 1881

(Y/N) stopped her tracks upon hearing his voice and turned around to confirm, but it was true, much to her dismay. He held his black-rimmed glasses with its left lens and frame cracked. The girl's mind went blank. She hesitantly glanced at him a few times, hoping that he would forgive her or let the incident smoothly slide.

He hissed, "Don't think you can get away with this, miss."

She sighed in defeat. The kids approached her with worried looks. She patted her heads, accepting their sympathy. "Well, playtime's over."

"But we haven't finished the game!"

"Do you still want to play?"

"Yes!"

"Next time, when you see me again at the park. Onee-chan has to go now."

She bade goodbye to the children and walked towards the guy she hit with his friend. She looked at his broken glasses again and couldn't help but to let out an exhale with anxiety. This is the result of my stupidity...

"W-What do you want me to do?" (Y/N) slurred.

" I don't know, maybe you should fix it right here and right now." The blonde guy crossed his arms and frowned.

Why don't you just get to the point?

"Replace it."

Of course, she will have to replace it. What a question to ask. She mentally rolled her eyes.

"I'll check there out if there's an optical store, I guess you will have to keep an eye on me so that I won't escape?" She pointed to the nearby mall, walking distance from the park.

"What else? Nobody trusts a stranger."

They reached the town's mall and saw an open optical store, but (Y/N) remembered her wallet. She wasn't sure if there's enough money for her to buy glasses.

"On the second thought, can I buy the glasses tomorrow? I don't think I have enough money."

"No." He instantly replied.

"Tsukki," His green-haired companion interrupted, "Maybe we can give her a chance? What if she's telling the truth?"

"I need my glasses in my everyday life, and if she doesn't have the money, I'll be happy to spare her some, but she'll have no choice to be in my debt."

How merciless. It's not like (Y/N) could blame him, but if the same thing happened to her, she would treat them nicely. She looked around the store to find a pair of glasses exactly like his, as he demanded, with his friend helping her for 30 minutes. After she gets the correct measurements and eye grade, she emptied her wallet to pay for the damn thing,

"Here." She held out the new glasses in the case. "Take care of them, it costed my LAST savings."

He took them and wore them immediately, "I am taking care of my glasses, it's just someone 'accidentally' kicked a ball on my way and knocked them off. Thank you for the horrible experience."

He excused himself and walked away. His friend stayed to talk to her.

"I'm sorry for the way he acted, he's like this most of the times. Please understand," He bowed, shyness evident in his voice.

"It's okay, it was completely my fault, so I don't mind."

"It was an accident, though. Thank you for your generosity." He soon followed the blondie that headed first.

"That was mandatory, though." (Y/N) lightly chuckled to herself.

She got out of the mall to take in the fresh air, but her soul almost left her body when a bolt of lightning strikes a tree near her, setting it on fire.

"Oh, my fucking- Did the sky just attempted to finish me?!" She said, calming herself down and looking up. The clouds were much darker than earlier.

As the townspeople bombed the burning tree with water, she ran to her apartment before it rains. There, she dropped her things on the couch and flopped to her bed, thinking what happened on this day because of her own stupidity. She groaned when she held her now empty wallet.

"Argh! Why am I so unlucky?!"She threw her wallet in frustration.

"That tall, blonde, asshole! He didn't need to embarrass me in front of people! I didn't mean it! He could've waited for tomorrow for me to replace his glasses! He's so unforgiving!" She complained, hating the thought of the said guy.

She sighed, cringe, anger, and embarrassment filling her head as she hugged her pillow.

"May karma comes to him sometime," was her last words before drifting off to a nap.

A few days passed, she went out of the house again to buy food supplies in a convenience store. It was almost nighttime. The chilly wind blew to her face and the sweet scent wafted in the store. She picked up some junk food and meat first before stopping by the confectioneries section. While choosing what shortcake flavor to pick, she bumped into something that almost made her fall to the floor, if she hadn't retained her balance.

"Oof, I'm sorry..."

Or rather, it was a person she bumped into.

She looked up and recognized the face of the man. It was the guy she's kind of mad at, but this time, he didn't have his nice friend with him.

(Y/N) took a step back, "You!"

The male looked back at her, tilting his head, observing the girl. He spoke with a monotonous expression, "Do I know you?"

Her eye twitched in irritation, "He doesn't remember me?!"

"I was the girl in the playground three days ago! I... I replaced your glasses!" She said, hesitating on the next sentence.

"Oh." His eyebrows raised, "Did the midget learned her lesson not to play a sport she's bad at?" He mocked.

"I'm not even a soccer player to begin with! What are you doing here?"

"What? Am I not allowed to buy food in a convenience store like a normal person?"

"I've been buying stuff here and I've never seen a similar face I've met twice in a week or month. That's sus."

"Maybe you are following me."

"What do I gain by following a huge, mean person like you?" (Y/N) retorted.

"Perhaps you want to get back at me after what happened days ago even if it's your fault. I don't know. Ask yourself." He took his eyes off her to choose among the sweet desserts.

She paused, analyzing his comment, "Well, you aren't completely wrong..."

"So, I am being followed? What a stalker."

"Of course not! What you said might be possible, but it's not the case right now!"

Both of them have set their eyes on an item and surprisingly the same one. A strawberry shortcake in the middle of the section. Their hands both grabbed the object before staring at each other in annoyance.

"Let go." They chorused.

"I chose it first." Said (Y/N).

"I do not see your name in it. You let go." He replied.

"How about no?"

They glared at each other for a few minutes before (Y/N)'s brows creased deeper in the middle, knowing well that this guy won't back down. "Whatever, you take it. I don't care anymore."

"Wow, thanks." He subtly rolled his eyes then walked away.

It was very awkward in the cashier where she had to wait behind him. Damn, he's so tall. Does he play any sport? Is he human? Or probably just a walking, mean tree?

What happened in the park flashed in (Y N)'s mind again. The impact of the ball might have been so painful to him since he wears glasses, where it cracked. What if the shards got into his eyes? Her wallet isn't ready for more payments, but that isn't the issue right now. She was worried about his well being. Both of them got out of the convenience store and she called the blonde male before he could get away again.

"Uhh, hey!"

He looked over his shoulder a little, "What?"

"Are your eyes okay? I mean, your glasses cracked... shards could've got inside your eyes..."

"Yes, they're fine, fortunately."

(Y/N) let out a sigh of relief. "That's... good to hear."

"But if something happened to my eyes, I will not hesitate to find you and make you pay for an eye surgery."

"You're exaggerating."

"It's not impossible. Now, go home. Elementary school students shouldn't go past the curfew."

She frowned. If only he wasn't a stranger, she would've kicked his ass to hell.

"Oh, gladly. I wouldn't want to stay near a bootleg Eiffel Tower any longer. Have a good day for you."

The blonde male left without any more words. (Y/N) sighed again in mental exhaustion, having to finish a lot of things this night. She was walking straight to her home while thinking of ideas to put in her current project when she realized that he was still walking ahead in front of her.

Where is he going?

She made her footsteps lighter, not wanting him to think that she was following him. She was thinking where does this guy live or why is he walking the same route as she does. It's not wrong to know where does this asshole stay, right? This continued for a couple of minutes before he turned around.

"Will you stop following me?"

Her eyes widened, not expecting him to know that she was behind him, "Excuse me? I'm just walking to my place?"

"Really?" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

(Y/N) looked around to find a way to escape. There, she saw her house that she almost missed because her mind was occupied, "Oh, look. It's my house. I gotta go!"

She waved goodbye to the blonde stranger, ran to her apartment, and slammed the door, dying from the awkwardness. She proceeded to the kitchen to drop the food supplies and to cook for herself as well. The salt in the cupboard reminded her of the rude, four eyes that she just met again minutes ago. That's when she realized, she kept calling him either insults or his evident physical features when he probably has a name. She could've asked for his name earlier, but shrugged the idea off, thinking that he will never give her his name.

The common thing to do after graduating junior high is to find a decent high school. (Y/N) is scheduled to have her entrance exams next week, so she has to spend time reviewing her notes these days. She opted to go to the prefectural library the next day to get further references as she isn't satisfied with the books she has. It was Wednesday, thus it was full of people who are also preparing for their entrance exams. With her stature, it'll be easy to pass in this crowd of people but she will have to ask for help because she can't reach the books at the top of the shelves.

After wandering around the crowded library, she found an unoccupied table to quietly study. She made her way to it, carrying the heavy books she needed that was luckily located at the bottom shelves. As she set the books on the left side of the table, someone did the same on the opposite side. She looked up to see who the stranger is, only to find out that the person isn't a stranger to her anymore.

"Oh, the midget stalker is here."

#haikyuu!!#tsukishima kei #haikyuu tsukishima #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu angst #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu fluff #kei tsukishima #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima kei x reader #haikyuu headcannons #haikyuu x reader #tsukishima headcanons #tsukishima imagine #tsukishima scenarios #tsukki

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merryfortune · 3 years

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Enter! Muse Duellist: the Heroine Who Fights Armageddon with Song

Written for the 100ships Challenge on Dreamwidth

Prompt #31 Cadet

Ship: Petuniashipping | Gakuto/Romin

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

Word Count: 5,622

Rating: T

Warnings: No Warnings Apply

Tags: Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Aged Up Characters, Meet Cute, Sci-Fi Elements, Action, Affectionate Parody

AN: The AU is a mash-up of Tokyo Mew Mew & Megaman with other magical girl anime influences but Gakuto/Romin’s relationship is meant to imitate Ryou/Ichigo from TMM and Gakuto & Yuga’s relationship is meant to imitiate Dr. Light & Dr. Wily from Megaman

Yuga shook his head, “You are naive, Dr. Sougetsu,” he chided his dear friend who could only stand there, helpless, as Yuga lectured him, “the future is decided. I can see the end of my Road. The flesh is weak but the mind… the mind is unknowable, infinite. Humans may be finite but I shall not be. Nor shall my creations.”

Gakuto’s hand turned to a fist by his side.

“All our roads shall come to an end and they will be by my design, my creation.” Yuga told him.

Gakuto was unable to bring himself to say something. Not because there was nothing to be said but because there was too much to say. Too much to protest. The future that Yuga saw and desired to bring about was not one of coexistence between forces such as robotics, humans, and A.I. but armageddon. Pure and complete and total armageddon. He wanted to open that box, bring about the apocalypse, shiny and chrome. Yuga thought, at the very least, that it was shiny and chrome. Gakuto only saw rust and endless dust.

It broke his heart but Gakuto knew that he had to be the one to stop Yuga from piling high his monopoly and bringing about this end that he foresaw. But how? If the enemy was inhuman, the solution could only be uniquely human.

Parting ways with Yuga, and with such little time between their verbal and ideological sparring, Gakuto threw himself into art. Literature. Into what was sensitive and poetic; things that couldn’t be perfectly recreated by robotic touch. And in his immense and expansive reading, in every genre and every niche, Gakuto had the epiphany that he was after.

There was an archetypical champion that was trusted instantaneously by the public, adored and rarely ever turned against. Someone who was a paragon of goodness, morality, and put all humanity above themselves for little or more commonly, nothing in return. All because they had an everlasting love inside their heart and a belief in the inherent goodness of mankind. That person, that hero… no, that heroine was, of course, the magical girl.

Gakuto knew what he had to do. The revelation sank deep down to his theatrical bones. He needed to create, to assemble, his very own magical girl. Flashing in his glasses and in his brain, Gakuto already had a name in mind for this cadet to champion the continuation of humanity rather than its end: Muse Duellist.

Racing against his rival who aspired to the end of the world, Gakuto was highly motivated. He threw himself into creating as close to magic as he could using his breadth of scientific knowledge. After all, sufficiently advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic. He embraced those intelligent words from [guy] in the long hours that he slogged to create the perfect frilly armour, the perfect weapons to disarm technology, and so forth.

The only thing that Gakuto could not create, was of course, the girl herself. No, he needed to find her, his Muse Duellist.

He could just harass random young ladies on the street - and Gakuto knew that from experience as he had tried that. He got hounded on by many saviour boyfriends, a few policemen, and even some strong-armed ladies who would have made a brilliant Muse Duellist if only they listened, and believed, in him. The mad scientist on the sidewalk, spouting endlessly about the end of the world.

Yeah, Gakuto wouldn’t want to work with Dr. Sougetsu either, actually, but so went his eccentricity. He had no idea how his beloved Ranze and Rinnosuke put up with him but he was endlessly grateful that they did and were happy to go along with his insane ideas.

But then he saw her on the televisions in the electronics store window display. He was entranced by her music. Gaktuo stood there, enchanted, as he watched this rock and roller on the television slamming on her guitar. She looked like she was having the time of her life; the camera loved; Gakuto loved her. Her smile was wide and sparkling. She looked so good in her high heels and mini-skirt; the partial mesh body-suit and the loose, over the shoulder, 80’s style torn top.

With her wild pinky-purple coloured hair and her bright eyes, Gakuto could all too easily imagine her donning the armour of Muse Duellist. Gakuto had to have her. This… This…

“And that was Roa-Romin with their new hit single! Give it up to Kirishima Romin and her boys!” the announcer rattled off from behind glass.

Kirishima… Romin… Her name was sweet on Gakuto’s tongue. His eyes were all lit up. He had to meet her. How on Earth was he going to manage that? He was some washed up weirdo from the strangest parts of academia. This Kirishima Romin girl was a mega-famous superstar from the reception that she and her bandmates were getting.

So, he did what he did best. He threw himself into yet more research and he discovered something very, very usable about this Miss Kirishima Romin: she was an amateur food critic. She had a very widely known appetite reputed for being humongous and Gakuto didn’t consider himself too bad in the kitchen. Thus, a plan was hatched - and one inspired by one of the magical girl anime that he had watched in the first place in the beginnings of his plan to save the world.

Using what little of his dwindling generational wealth that he had left, and of course the assistance of his beloved assistants Ranze and Rinnosuke, Gakuto set up shop. Literally. He opened Cafe Muse from behind his house and he did his best to spread word of it as far and wide as he possibly could. All so that Kirishima Romin would be attracted to it - and pinging her across various modes of social media about it did help because she did, eventually, agree to come to the grand opening of it.

Kirishima Romin looked so fashionable in a beret and cut-out skinny jeans as she was escorted inside by Ranze, ahead of everyone else who lined up in a queue for the grand opening. She looked around the Cafe. It was a lot more saccharine-looking than she was expecting, she mentioned to Ranze. She sat back casually in a pink metal chair and slung her handbag over the back of it.

“I thought that a newly opened cafe was going to be more upscale than this,” Romin mused to Ranze as she waited hand and foot on her, “but so long as the food was good, I won’t complain.” She shrugged.

Ranze hesitated, “Yes, well, Master Gakuto has always had unpredictable tastes. I wasn’t quite expecting the architectural plans either and I’m one of his investors.”

Romin laughed at Ranze’s humour.

“Would you like anything to order?” Ranze asked sheepishly.

“Oh boy would I.” Romin was already all but slobbering. She ordered a lot of food, much more than Ranze was expecting but she diligently scribbled down every whim that Romin had for her stomach and then excused herself.

Ranze returned to the kitchen, the base of operations for Gakuto, both as chef and as a mad scientist looking to turn this rock star into a magical girl, Rinnosuke slunk out in tandem. He was performing a bit of reconnsanice and of course, he was the waiter and a few guests had already ordered food so that had to be delivered to him. He kept an eye on the one guest that they had been fishing for but his attention was truly hooked by someone else. A familiar face.

Yuga smiled blithely and flagged Rinnosuke down. “Yo.” he said.

“Hello Dr. Ohdo, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” Rinnosuke tersely replied, his hackles raising. “Should I go fetch Master Gakuto for you?”

“No, no, it’s fine. I’m just here for a snack.” Yuga said and he drummed his hands on the table in front of him but he was wiggling in his chair, craning his head, trying to catch a glimpse of Gakuto who was out in the back. “Dr. Sougetsu and I had a very heated discussion about our irreparable differences of perspective last time we met, I don’t think it's wise but I'm glad he’s come around. Throwing in the towel, deciding to live the rest of his road to the fullest by opening a restaurant. It's unexpected but he’s always been a weirdo. I used to love that about him.”

Rinnosuke’s expression was dark behind his spectacles but he felt obliged, “Should I take your order, Dr. Ohdo?”

“That would be fantastic, youngest Nanahoshi.” Yuga teased him with a cruel, fox-like smile. “Now, do you guys have any udon or should I just order a strawberry shortcake?”

Rinnosuke gravely took Yuga’s order and scurried off. By the time he arrived back in the kitchen, Gakuto had already realised that his rival in the world’s final fate was here. He blamed himself for attracting too much attention. It was, in hindsight, ill-advised to stir such a hullabaloo but Gakuto was certain it would be worth it so long as he could get Kirishima Romin on board with his plan to save the world.

But how?

Walking straight up to her and asking, Gakuto had learned, was the quickest way to be slapped and disbelieved but deceiving her would be immoral and counterintuitive to his noble goals. It was all very difficult. If only Ranze hadn’t declined; stating she preferred to be the backstage hero, not the heroine on display front and centre amid the fray. They needed someone with a loud and bombastic and friendly disposition, someone exactly like Kirishima Romin.

Wary that he was going to run out of time or that this opportunity would slip through his fingers, Gakuto resolved to act fast. He had been hoping to save this maneuver for later but every episode one had a good, gimmicky little mascot character. It was time to introduce Kirishima Romin to her fateful and adorable little partner: Musa.

Discreetly as possible, Gakuto fed the Tuning Pick to Musa and then slipped over to where Romin was sitting. As soon as he left the kitchen, Gakuto realised that Romin had someone sitting with her. His blood ran cold as he approached her and Yuga.

“Oh, I didn’t realise that you two knew each other.” Yuga said to Gakuto as he inched closer to Romin’s puff pastry perfect table. “I was just saying hi, introducing myself… I’m a big fan of RoaRomin. Are you into them, as well, Dr. Sougetsu? Or should I just call you Gakuto since you don’t seem to be much of a professor these days, running a sweets shop.”

“I was just coming over to thank Miss Kirishima for her patronage. Her celebrity presence has increased our business tenfold from what we were expecting on our first day.” Gakuto said and his heart began to quake as he set down the little, fluffy trinket known as Musa in front of romin; a gesture that Yuga eyed with delight. Resistance, excellent, just what he was expecting. “Here,” Gakuto said, “a small token of appreciation, leftover from my bygone days as a scientist. It has no purpose other than to look cute and hold small items, like car keys, for example.”

“Oh, interesting.” Romin blinked as she picked up the item.

“Its name is Musa, but I suppose you are free to rename it how you please.” Gakuto said nervously.

Yuga cooed at them, “Aren’t you two sweet?” he teased.

“Musa is a cute name, I’ll keep it as is.” Romin replied as she admired the object in question.

It was almost keyring like in that it had a chain link and hoop at the end of it but other than that, it had a fluffy, little body and was a charming pink in colour. It had googly eyes and a cotton ball tail. It was everything that was meant to be cute or adorable, turned into one conundrum of an unidentifiable creature but it certainly served its purpose.

“Well,” Yuga said, “I best be going.”

“It was nice meeting you, Dr. Ohdo.” Romin said.

“And it was good seeing you again, old friend.” Gakuto added, his voice was bittersweet.

“Yeah, see ya.” Yuga said and he gave them both a two finger salute.

He got up and walked away, whistling a little tune to himself, his hands behind his head. The very picture of nonchalance. Meanwhile, Romin and Gakuto exchanged a very awkward look and Gakuto couldn’t take the pressure. He excused himself back to the kitchen, claiming he had much to cook and prepare, namely thanks to her, their current number one customer and Romin laughed half-heartedly. Her reputation, per usual, preceded her.

As Gakuto left the table, he could only hope that Romin would poke and prod Musa until its functions were revealed and Romin’s destiny would be all lit up in a blue hologram. Until then, Gakuto could only hope that everything would turn out alright - and that Yuga hadn’t gotten up to anything awry when they weren’t looking. It was already suspicious enough that he had puzzled out who Gakuto and his team were aiming to make their champion for the future of the world.

Back in the kitchen, Gakuto went through the motions of cooking and preparing food for the patrons to eat. The bombardment of popularity, in any other circumstances, would be seen as fortunate but this place was only meant to be a front for their saving the world efforts so it was more of a hassle than anything else. Still, busying their hands helped distract them from the possibility that Yuga might have something planned.

Throughout the afternoon, Romin single handedly depleted their larder. They ended up closing early because of it but that might have been a blessing in disguise, even if it was an expensive one. Still, within minutes of closing shop, glowing reviews were going out from Romin’s phone which was an appreciated gesture.

Gakuto met her again outside with a wobbly smile, “Thank you again for visiting our humble shop, Miss Kirishima.”

“No problem,” she beamed, chatting idly whilst she texted on her phone; organising for her private chauffeur to come pick her up, “I’m glad I took a chance on this place. Dr. Ohdo was telling me about how good his strawberry shortcake was and he wasn’t wrong. I went for thirds and fourths on it.”

She laughed and Gakuto laughed with her. It was weird to be with her but Gakuto found himself just a little bit infatuated with the rock star in front of him; just like he had been in front of the electronics store, seeing her perform on television for the first time. He took a deep breath.

“And thanks again for this little guy,” Romin said and she took out Musa, letting it hang off the hoop which she had threaded onto her finger, “he’s very cute. I can’t wait to show him off to my friends in the band. By the way, totally bringing RoaRomin ‘round here the next chance I get.”

“We will look forward to it.” Gakuto smiled warmly.

Romin replied with a small smile of her own and the conversation drifted off into silence. Romin was half expecting for Gakuto to disappear back into his own shop behind them but no, he seemed intent on sticking around. It wasn’t creepy, per say, but it was odd. Fortunately, Romin’s phone buzzed in her hand - spooking them both.

“Oh, it's my chauffeur saying he’s about to arrive.” Romin said. “I should get going.” She slipped her phone into her purse.

“Safe travels then, Miss Kirishima.” Gakuto replied.

“Thank you, er, um… I don’t know how to address you.” Romin rambled.

Gakuto didn’t know what to tell her. So he just stood there, awkwardly, weirding Romin out so she took a big, and exaggerated, step back. He waved her goodbye and across the road, he watched a limousine park. That must have been her ride and he really did wish her safe travels.

But she didn’t even make it to the ledge next to this side of the road before she needed such sentiments on her side. The purse that she had slung over her shoulder began to glow - and explode.

It happened in the blink of an eye. Shafts of bright, yellow light branched out from inside the clutch top of the purse and just expanded outward. Romin yelled and screamed as she rid herself of her purse and then there was the bang as something impossible happened. The explosion knocked Romin and Gakuto to their feet. It caused the whole street to tremble; branches on trees came loose and the rumble was felt for miles out.

It was blinding at first. Dizzying, disorentating but when the effects began to wear off, as blurry as that was, it was more than apparent that everyone in the immediate vicinity of Cafe Muse was in great, big danger.

“What is that thing?” Romin yelled as she stumbled to her feet. There were grass stains on her jeans and her wrists felt jarred. Her eyes were wide with defiant fear. “And why the hell is it my phone?!”

A giant monster loomed in front of them. It looked like a smartphone; slick black screen and a phone case on the back, it was even pommed with decorative charms. But there was something else latched onto it, at the top rim beside where the phone charms hung: it looked like some sort of drone had taken hold of it, like a parasite and its host. Thus, it donned abominable arms and legs, ready to rampage, giving a staticky screech.

Gakuto grit his teeth through the horrendous noise. Romin stood there, stunned, by the utter impossibility of a monster looming and screeching in front of her. A monster that had somehow spawned from her phone - and that was definitely her phone case and phone charms.

“I was hoping that Muse would do the explaining, but there’s no time for that.” Gakuto said, his voice projecting far and wide. He ripped off his Cafe Muse apron and replaced it with a lab coat. “Enter! Muse Duellist: the Heroine Who Fights Armageddon with Song! Musa, begin protocol M-U-Five-Three!”

The little animatronic known as Musa began to chirp and chatter. Its little fuzzy wings began to buzz and it revealed the maw that it hid. Romin squeaked in surprise as the little critter tried to escape her finger and it forced itself in her face. It bore its tongue at her and atop its tongue there was a strange, teeny-tiny item that looked like it belonged in some sort of dolly’s playset. It looked like a stick decorated with an… R?

Whatever it was, Musa spat it in Romin’s face and it hit her right across the bridge of her nose. She flinched and she had no idea what was happening next. There was another bright light - white, this time, rather than the yellow of the prior explosion - and then her body was just moving on its own.

The little trinket that had been inside of Musa became a scepter for Romin to wield and from the R-shaped charm atop its crown, ribbons flew out and captured her. The next thing she knew, she was all gifted up in pantyhose and frills. The fashionable, heavy metal style clothes she had been wearing before turned into something truly a one-eighty to her usual.

Romin’s hair, once down, was now up in twin tails adorned with red ribbons. She was wearing a frilly little dress that was pink and white with gold buttons down her sternum. The cherry red high heels were cute though, even if Romin had no idea where any of this wardrobe change came from - or how it had happened at all. She just felt like it happened in an instant, from nowhere but that white light.

Gakuto grinned, “Yes!” he yelled. “Yes, here she is! The magical girl who shall champion humanity and keep us on an eternal road: Muse Duellist.”

“Muse who?” Romin yelped as she scrambled in her ankle breakers close to Gakuto since he seemed to have some idea of what was going on, as insane as it was.

“Muse Duellist, of course, the one who will destroy Dr. Ohdo’s terrible Roads and save the day! The future! The entire world!” Gakuto said and he struck a sharp pose for emphasis.

Romin’s jaw just dropped. She could not take this man seriously at all.

“Now go, Muse Duellist, save us all with your song.” Gakuto said and he pointed at the monster.

The sun was glaring off. It leered and loomed and now that they were making a lot of noise, it seemed more than content to rampage. Merely taking a step forward with its gargantuan body was enough to crack and crater the pavement below.

Romin squeaked, “Play music? Yeah, that I can do. Dunno about that other stuff.” she said.

“I’ll support you as best I can,” Gakuto said and from inside his sweater vest, he drew out a handheld device, “this can detect any robot’s weakness, with just a mighty Scholar Scan, we’ll be able to take it down.”

Romin nodded her head, she had no idea why but she was going along with it. She may as well. It was likely her only option to get out of this crazy situation at all.

“Now go forth!” Gakuto yelled. “Sing your song, Muse Duellist!”

“Okay,” Romin said, her voice completely neutral, “so where’s my guitar?”

Gakuto blinked, “Your guitar…?” he echoed.

“Yeah, I’m lead guitarist, not lead singer, you know that, right?” Romin pointed out.

“But you're in a band, surely you can sing, right?” Gakuto said, blinking again. “Muse Duellist’s entire schtick is that she sings a song that reverberates at the correct frequency to disable and disassemble Dr. Ohdo’s Road.”

Romin blushed, she toyed with the scepter that she held, it was actually quite light-weight and even fun to play with, “I’m tone deaf. I can carry a tune with a guitar, not my vocal chords.”

“Pardon?” Gakuto said in a tiny voice.

“I’m a horrible singer.” Romin reiterated.

Gakuto’s eyes glazed over. He had done hours and hours of research into Kirishima Romin and the band she was a part of, RoaRomin. He learned all her favourite foods, that her blood type was AB, that her zodiac sign was Pisces. He had even happened across her three sizes and her grades even so far back as elementary school. He had scoured dozens of magazines and gossip websites and plenty more too.

Everything that he researched just confirmed in his mind that Kirishima Romin would make the perfect Muse Duellist; he even fashioned the accessory that adorned the Muse Scepter after her initial because of this certainty. Not once did any of these sources that he had inquired into ever mentioned that, apparently, famous guitarist Kirishima Romin was a terrible, no good, horrible singer. It simply did not compute with Gakuto who felt his heart and pride shrink in on themselves.

So, in an even tinier voice than before, Gakuto uttered, “We are so screwed.”

That they were, that they were.

The monster lumbered over and smashed an arm down through where they stood. Romin jumped out of the way, shrieking, but Gakuto was knocked down again. The telephone monster’s fist broke the pavement there, too. Shards of concrete spiked up from the ground. It gave another, awful screech which was raw and staticky.

Gakuto groaned. His pants ripped at the knees and he was seeing stars. Most of them around Romin, his dear Muse Duellist.

Romin felt her heart steel. Gakuto could be hurt. Severely wounded, even. And she had just dashed away like it was nothing, there was something about these clothes, as impractical as they were, which gave her an agility she didn’t realise she had. Gakuto was practically defenseless compared to her. She had to do something. He had entrusted her with this power for some weird, cosmic reason, so may as well use it.

“Hi-yah!” Romin yelled as she surged forward.

She ran towards the monster and hit it with the scepter. She bashed at its back side, over and over again. She grinned whilst doing it, her heart racing as she had an incredibly good time unleashing her inner brutality on it. Totally unafraid of either breaking the scepter or phone which had become the basis for this monster at all.

It was just a shame that it didn’t seem to be doing much at all. Nothing except annoy the monster. It shifted slightly, pulled its arm away from Romin and lunged at her with the other. She yelled as she gave it a great swack, like it was from a baseball bat, and it turned into a gritty parry.

Gakuto held his head and groaned. The Muse Scepter was not meant for close combat but he was suddenly glad that it was reinforced anyway. He knew that bright idea would come in handy for one reason or another.

“Muse Duellist!” he yelled out but his voice had a loose tremble to it. “Use your Maximum Song!”

“Who-? Oh right, me,” Romin murmured as she jumped back from the fray, trying to close in on Gakuto without luring the monster either, she turned her head, “wait, my what?” She took a few more steps back so she could regroup with Gakuto.

Gakuto sighed, “Your Maximum Song,” he insisted, “even if you can’t sing, surely it’ll still work. Put your scepter in front of you, line up your mouth with the R, and sing, Muse Duellist!” He then used that Scholar Scanner of his and lined it up with the monster, like he was trying to take a photo of it.

Romin screwed up her expression. It was a weird instruction but she did it anyway. There was a tremble in her forearms as she aligned her mouth with the R of the Muse Scepter. She swallowed and even though it was against the grain of her talents, she sang a note into the scepter.

Her off-kilter note that she sang warbled through the R but it came out the other side as something else. A weak sonic boom of all things. Her eyes went wide as she managed to shoot her shot though, damaging the side of the monster. But that just made it mad.

The monster shuddered and gave an even grander screech than before. It caused more branches to fall off trees and for tiles on the roof to come loose. It shook the foundations of the cafe, even. Gakuto and Romin could hardly withstand the aural assault but they managed.

Gakuto held onto Romin and he pulled himself up. Romin struggled with Gakuto’s weight but came good once he was on his own two feet. He placed his arm around her waist and brandished a fan - she had no idea where it came from - with passion.

“Seize the sonic wave, Muse Duellist!” he yelled in her ear with a flourish of his fan. “According to my Scholar Scanner, this monster’s weak point is in the middle of its top vertice so aim there.”

“Got it.” Romin nodded.

Gakuto held her steady whilst Romin wielded her scepter once more. Knowing it's true function as a long range, sound based weapon, having given it a crash test, she felt more confident with it. She took a huge breath and felt her diaphragm flex. Even if she didn’t know how to sing in a way that sounded good, at least she knew how to sing in a way that was good for her body.

Romin moved the scepter upwards, she tilted her chin up, too. She could see that funny little device at the top of her phone which had caused this monstrosity to become a monstrosity in the first place. The weak point, she didn’t even need the Scholar Scanner to realise that. Holding on tight to the sceptre, Romin used her finishing attack: her Maximum Song.

She sang the opening lyrics of RoaRomin’s most iconic song into the R of the sceptre and the effect was immediate. It wasn’t just a sonic wave, it was a sonic boom. It was enough to flatten the vicinity of the cafe, Romin and Gakuto barely holding onto each other through the immensity of the sound.

The monster screeched out but began to crack. The sonic boom had been concentrated, funneled through the hole of the R and it assailed the top vertice of the monster. It tried to resist but it began to buzz. To fumble. Its body fell away, piece by piece and Romin could hardly believe her eyes as every iota of the machine was just shed so easily.

Then poof! Another explosion and the monster disappeared. Became its omega and its alpha: in other words, Romin’s phone and Dr. Ohdo’s device that he used to turn it into a monster.

Romin squealed as she raced forward, catching her phone before it could crash land into the ground. Gakuto was also hot on her heels, catching the Road that had infected the technology. They both sighed in relief as neither seemed too damaged and then exchanged a smile.

“Well…” Romin murmured, her high heels clicking as she dawdled, “I think we can call that a success.”

“I think we can.” Gakuto said.

Romin leaned over and peered over Gakuto’s arms. She looked at what he was holding, cupped, in his hands. Some sort of tiny, green drone with frazzled, yellow eyes.

“What is that?” Romin asked, blinking.

“A Kaizo.” Gakuto replied gravely. “One of Dr. Ohdo’s favourite inventions. It's a versatile Road and seeing what chaos it caused today, one he has improved of late.”

“But we broke it, right? Destroyed it? So it's all good, right? We saved the day and never have to do this Muse Duellist thing ever again, yeah?” Romin asked, rambling.

Gakuto shook his head, “This fight was just the first of who knows how many. Your duty as the champion of humanity’s future, ensuring that we have one, just begun, Miss Kirishima.”

“Wh-What?!” Romin stammered in exclamation.

Gakuto put his hand firmly on Romin’s shoulder, “Worry not, you will do well. I shall assist you above and beyond all expectations.” His mind was already brimming with calculations and ideas on how to improve the Muse Sceptre now that he had seen Romin action as a close quarters combatant rather than a ranged attacker like he expected.

“That’s not really the-” Romin gave up mid-sentence. Gakuto was practically shining with his conviction so she sighed. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with any commitments I have with my band.”

“Thank you, Romin, I have no doubt you will be hailed and regarded extremely well in the future, once we have acquired its certainty. We will not allow Dr. Ohdo to end our road in armageddon.” Gakuto said firmly.

“Yeah…” Romin murmured and she looked around, her eyes went wide as she realised that two people were standing them, half-crouched, hands reached up and they were twirling brushes in their fingers like they were meant to be bouquets. “Um, who are…?” She looked around in panic and realised that the impacts and craters from their fight, the fallen branches, a lot of it had been cleaned up and away somehow.

“These are my trusty assistants, Ranze and Rinnosuke, they will be assisting us in our endeavour to protect the future as well.” Gakuto explained.

“Okay, well, good to meet you both.” Romin said.

They ceased their stagehanding with the brushes and got up. They saluted Romin and appeared to return her sentiments: it was good to meet her, too.

“So, um, how do I get out of this outfit?” Romin asked in a small voice. “Just by the way.”

“Musa, activate protocol Three-Five-U-M.” Gakuto recited.

“Mu-Mu-Musa!” Musa chirped.

Romin was flung asunder again, this time in reverse from before. The Muse Sceptre vibrated in her hands and began the de-transformation process. She was forcibly put through the wringer and when she came out the side, her hair was down, her beret was back, and she was wearing her cut-out denim jeans again. She couldn’t believe it.

Her sceptre had also become that tiny little charm again - the Tuning Pick - in her hand. Knowing the safest spot for it was inside Musa, she offered it to the little guy who was brimming with jubilance as it hovered around her like an enthusiastic fly. It happily swallowed up the Tuning Pick and Romin sighed, exhausted.

“What a day it’s been…” she mumbled and felt her stomach growl.

“And what a future it shall be,” Gakuto reminded her and Romin look up at him, the weirdo in a lab coat, shiny orange glasses, he looked bizarre but he also looked like he knew what he was doing, he offered her his hand, “and to thank you for your services, would you like an early dinner with us?”

Romin smiled and she took his hand, she felt her heart skip a beat and now she was the one enamoured with this person from an entirely different world to her, “That would be lovely, thank you. I’ll let my chauffeur know that I’ll be a bit longer.”

“Sounds good.” Gakuto agreed, squeezing her hand, noticing the callouses on her fingertips, and so ending the beginning of Muse Duellist’s saga to protect the future through song on a happy note.

#100ships challenge #petuniashipping #yugioh sevens #sevens #yugioh #gakuto sougetsu #romin kirishima #kirishima romin #sougetsu gakuto #writing tag #i had a lot of fun writing this fic and i hope the affectionate paordy elements convey that way

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mystery-deer · 4 years

Text

Missing Out (b99, fic)

Raymond walked languidly through a seemingly endless field of wheat, bending the plants with a stick he’d picked up somewhere along the way. He was going somewhere and that was all he needed to know.

After what seemed to be hours he stopped, made lazy by the summer heat and lulled to tire by the pleasant sameness of everything surrounding him. Endless wheat, endless blue sky, endless sun caressing his skin.

He sat down and listened as someone began to hum, soft and familiar. He closed his eyes, opening them only when he felt the sun being blocked from him. He squinted up at the boy in front of him, redheaded and serious. He broke into a smile when he met Raymond’s eyes and Raymond smiled back, holding out his hands which were taken immediately as Kevin pulled him up into an embrace.

Have you ever played that game before? You know the one, the girls on the playground gathered round in circles. Mystic and wise despite how you might have jeered. Did you want to join them? Did you want to know? I won’t blame you. I wouldn’t blame you for anything. You know the one, the girls on the playground chanted; Pick a number Pick a color Pick a number Pick a color Pick a number Pick a color You live in a House With your Husband And you have Half a child (laughter) And you work as A -

No no no we didn’t have that kind of game. The girls at my school weren’t mystics, they were creatures of fact and reason like me. They would flock to the corners of the schoolyard and play jump rope. And though you may have jeered you admired their ability to look so free between the violent turning of the plastic. Did you want to join them? Did you think you would fall? Were you afraid to be called a- You know the one, the girls on the playground screamed; Strawberry shortcake cream on top! Tell me the name of my sweet heart! Is it, R A Y M O N -

Raymond woke up in the way he always did, all at once. It was a cloudy day and for a moment he was disconcerted by this, sure it had been sunny a few moments ago, before he was slotted completely back into reality.

It had been an odd dream.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.” Kevin said, peering into the bedroom, fully dressed and carrying a box. “I was beginning to consider waking you up, like a schoolchild.” He teased. Raymond rubbed his eyes and squinted at the alarm clock on their bedside table. Good lord, 7:30 am!

“You would have been remiss not to have done so!” He exclaimed, immediately getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

“Were you experiencing any difficulty sleeping last night? It isn’t like you to lie in so long.” Kevin remarked thoughtfully, swiftly removing and replacing their pillowcases with an intensity that told Raymond he’d been eager to for the majority of the morning.

“No…” He paused to brush his teeth as Kevin continued to replace towels and sheets, evidently the box was full of them.

“Well I had a dream, it wasn’t disturbing. I can’t remember the specifics. Something about…” He tried to latch onto anything from earlier but could only remember the vague feeling of warmth and Kevin.

“You were in it.” He settled on. “Why are you replacing all our linens?”

“It’s the beginning of summer, I thought they could do with some brightening up.” Kevin explained, holding up the corner of their duvet. “And this is much too heavy, a spring blanket will be absolutely suffocating when the weather turns.”

Raymond had no strong opinions on spring vs summer blankets but Kevin’s attention to detail was enamoring. ‘And,’ he thought as he ran a brush through his neatly buzzed hair ‘He might wear that lovely blue shirt that brings out his eyes now that the weather’s warmer.’

“Did you make breakfast yet?” He asked, exiting the bathroom and heading for the closet. “Not yet, should I?” Kevin called, already off down the hall. “No, I’ll prepare my own.”

When Raymond was a boy he had visited a relative’s farm. They had no animals but in the summer there was an explosion of carefully lined colors, bounty as far as the eye could see. He and Debbie would be set loose, told to “Go play outside” and she’d immediately be tugging at his hand, stepping on his shoes as she begged him to play Marco Polo.

“That��s a water game.” He’d say, observing a full tomato. “For the pool.” “Nuh-uh, it’s fine as long as you can’t see each other!” She'd insist.

And he’d acquiesce out of annoyance or fear that she’d run back inside crying that he was mean to her and he’d get the older brother speech.

He remembered a tiny thrill shooting through him as he crept around the crops, listening for his sister’s barely concealed giggles and shouts of surprise as they nearly collided. He remembered the childish idea of magic that seemed to be in the air when he opened his eyes somewhere different than where he started from.

Kevin liked his strawberries with a small bit of honey. This was to Raymond, a sickening amount of sweetness. “If the strawberry isn’t sweet enough on its own it’s a bad strawberry.” He’d say every time he found Kevin sitting out front, eyes half-lidded, indulging.

Sometimes this led to a playful argument and sometimes Kevin would simply smile and Raymond’s heart would lighten when gently assured of the knowledge that he was loved.

“Did you ever go apple picking as a child?” He asked Kevin over breakfast. Raymond was drinking a smoothie and Kevin was eating jam on toast.

“Not really.” He said after some deliberation. “At least, I don’t remember it. I was more of an ‘indoor child’ as my mother called me.” He laughed softly. “When I did go outside to play my father would open the window and yell ‘Dear God, he’s escaped!’”

Raymond pictured Kevin as a child, rolling his eyes and shoving his nose in a book when he heard his father call.

He felt...uneasy.

“What has you in such a nostalgic mood?” Kevin asked, wiping his face and clearing his plate. Raymond continued to sip his smoothie.

“I don’t know.” He admitted.

Raymond remembered so many days, all lined up in boxes, slightly differing but at their core the same.

Quietly studying his notes and praying the teacher would make it back to the classroom before the group of girls who were giggling and going table to table made their way to him and asked him if he liked any of them.

Changing so fast into his P.E uniform that the other boys began to remark on it and having to come up with something that wasn’t; ‘I’m so afraid that something will click if my gaze lingers anywhere, I’m so afraid that you will realize something about me and I will be confronted with the same thing and it’ll destroy me.’ He chose to declare his love for gym. “Ha, is that your boyfriend?” One of the boys laughed and he couldn’t remember what he’d said in response over the beating of his heart.

Retreating to the bathroom when one of his co-workers invited him out to a bachelor party. He looked past the color of his skin but balked at homosexuality; Had told him once. “The guys who give you shit about the black thing are fucking morons Ray.” Had told him once, “Don’t you look cute with those bug eyes on.” when he’d come in wearing his era-appropriate glasses. Had told him once, “You look good like that.” on a stakeout, leaning in too close to be coincidental, smelling like booze and cigarettes and putting an uncertain hand on the back of Raymond’s neck.

When he’d gotten the invite Raymond had smiled and said “So you finally roped Sandra into marrying you? How much did it set you back?” and the man’s eyes had widened before they refused to meet his, ashamed. Raymond had stared and stared and stared and then found himself in the bathroom, gut coiled tight with loss and anxiety.

When wasn’t it?

He imagined Kevin running past him on the street, reporter on the beat, thinking I’mnotI’mnotI’mnotI’mnotI’mnot so hard he could almost believe it.

“It...was difficult. It was a happy childhood but…” Hours had passed and Raymond was helping Kevin in the garden, watching him pluck insects off the fruit and flowers and deposit them safely in the dirt below. His tongue was so sharp it was easy to miss how gentle his hands were.

“...Anxious.” Kevin said. “Pardon?” Kevin pulled his hat down further and reached into a rose bush to remove a stick lodged inside it like a parent might remove a splinter.

“It was an anxious kind of happiness.” “I- ah.” Raymond hissed and instinctively cradled his hand before unfurling it and assessing the damage. Not much, just a small pinprick from one of the thorns.

“Are you alright?”

As Kevin took his hand he pictured a smaller Kevin with a smaller him, inspecting the cut. He pictured Kevin with a gaze so heavy it stilled him, calmed him. They had both played doctor as children - the real kind. Raymond had practiced with his stuffed animals and Kevin would write out notes and prescriptions to his brother.

Something welled inside him.

“Do you ever feel that you wish we had met earlier in our lives?” He blurted out, mildly surprising his husband. He had gotten a pocket first aid and was finishing up his ministrations, wrapping a band-aid around Raymond’s finger.

“Sometimes. Is that what’s been on your mind all day?” “Yes.” Raymond said, glad to be able to pinpoint it. “I just...can’t help feeling that perhaps we missed out on something.”

Kevin made a low noise of consideration. “I’m happy I met you when I did.” Raymond sighed in equal parts frustration and fondness. Kevin, ever rational. His lack of imagination was one of the most charming things about him.

“I can’t imagine anything better than how we met. I was granted the privilege of falling in love with your voice, your mind, and finally your body.” He continued, hands still cradling Raymond’s despite the cut having been attended to.

Raymond didn’t reply, breathing. He remembered Kevin being drunk when they were young and dating, they'd parked Gertie somewhere and his then-boyfriend was leaning half out of it. "I fell in love with you three times Raymond." he'd said, pulling himself back in and cupping his face. "What's more romantic then that?" He had assumed he was speaking nonsense at the time.

“Would you like to hear the stupidest thing I did as a child?” Raymond blinked, nodding. He was confused but comforted by Kevin’s apparent confidence.

“My father took me and my brother on a fishing trip and, tiring of waiting for the fish to bite, I threw the pole god knows where and tried to grab the fish myself.”

“Oh no.”

“Indeed. I ended up falling face first from the boat and nearly drowned. However, when I was dragged back on I found that a small fish had become trapped in my pocket.”

“How fortunate.”

“Yes. Of course my father was furious and my brother was beside himself, as I had accidentally hit him in the head with the pole, but I was over the moon. I was sent to bed without dinner and grounded for a week and never invited out fishing again but in my mind I had accomplished my goal of catching a fish.”

“...That’s a wonderful story Kevin." He paused. "I’m afraid I’m at a loss for how that connects to our previous topic of conversation.”

“Just because you weren’t there for those events doesn’t mean you can’t know them Raymond.” He clarified, kissing his husband’s hand before going back to gardening.

Raymond blinked again before breaking into a grin and nodding to himself. “Yes...I see!” He exclaimed, a rush of joy running through him.

The rest of the day was spent sporadically telling stories back and forth; The time Raymond kicked a dentist (“Oh, please tell Martin that one.”) The time Kevin got a girl’s hair stuck in his braces (“Quite the casanova.”) The time Raymond fell off the roof of his aunt’s house (“Amazingly, nothing broke.”) The time Kevin had had an allergic reaction during a date (“He did not call me back.”)

By the time night fell Raymond went to bed with his head full of Kevin. And when he closed his eyes he dreamt again;

He was in a boat, dressed to the nines and holding a parasol to combat the sun. He offered it to Kevin, who he felt would need it more but the man just shook his head. “Watch.” He insisted gently, gesturing to the water. And he did. It was beautiful. Two lifetimes played out on the surface, Kevin and Raymond as toddlers, as children, as teenagers, as adults. They laughed and pointed and exclaimed and watched every minute of it. They didn’t miss a moment.

Fire! Fire! False Alarm! Raymond fell in Kevin’s arms! Is he gonna be the one? Yes no maybe so! Yes no maybe so! Yes no maybe so!

#my writing #b99 #b99 fic #kevin cozner/raymond holt #b99: is a comedy show #me: Time to write a slow and introspective fic

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the-mystical-blog-of-evelyn-rose · 5 years

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Hey hey hey I am taking a break from alll this Members of Master Court for a hot minute to present this. I had this really cute idea of making like flower children things? Something in the vein of Strawberry Shortcake or My Little Pony with a bunch of characters based on a certain concept this one being plants. While here I explicitly focused on flowers in this sketch but I hope that I could expand the universe into fruits, herbs, weeds, gymnosperms, etc. I think this could have a lot of potential. I also want to note there would be more males than Lilium Humboldtii here, one of my issues with things like Strawberry Shortcake and the like is there's a lot of "tokens". The token boy/girl, token "insert racial minority", token sexuality gender minority, what have you. So even though they may have good, even excellent characterization, I definitely think it's important to push more diversity. Even if you are against "forced diversity" at they very least I think we should at least see it as boring and lazy writing and character design. Furthermore, often when there is any difference there is a risk that said characters become stereotypical and/or their diversity becomes their personality; i.e. They're a lesbian so they're all about being tough,butch, being feminist, and loving girls. Not to say there aren't lesbians like that, but it sucks often they are only seen as that and there isn't any else dimension to them. But enough of crappy diversity talk. So here I drew characters based on the Humboldt Lilly, Standard Sunflower, and Stand Lilac. Here are a few trivial cute things I thought for them: Humboldt Lily I chose this Lily because I wanted to do something past your standard Easter or Tiger Lilies. Moreover, the Humboldt Lily has such a unique shape to it that inspired his shorts. I'm actually a little iffy on the shorts because they kind of scream tiger to me, but ehhh. His hair was also inspired directly by the petals, as was the decision to give him freckles. Since this lily is said to grow in the Western United States and Mexico I decided to give them a hikers' outfit because that's common there. It's also recorded to be at 6' so I made him a tall boi. (all characters here are tall here) I kind of imagine this character liking to go outside obviously, but sees it as a nerdy venture; like, he wants to explore but not for exercising or being challenged, but to geek out over discoveries and History. Very a la tour guide esc, which may be his job in a town or something. Also I really like his hair ;w; I don't really have a name for any of these bois, I wasn't sure if I just want to name him after their flower like in Strawberry Shortcake or Steven Universe, or give them names similar, or not even bother. I thought naming him Leroy, but him going by "Lee" then his last name being "Von Humboldt" because of the explorer whom the flower is named for. Feel free to leave name suggestions below Sunflower Hey Hey insert joke on the Post Malone Song. I decided to make her like a farmer, because like Sunflowers are farmed in these magical like fields. Sunflowers are also native to the Southwestern United States, so I wanted to get both that Southern western tough babe energy but with a Californian Sunkist look. I low key wanted to make her a math nerd because Sunflowers are known for their perfect ratio of florets, or maybe an art nerd because of how often sunflowers have been used as focus for a lot of art and political movements. I just decided to go with how the sunflower is used in cultivation, that being farming and seeds and all that. Perhaps she could have an artsy sister or cousin where she doesn't get her but they learn they have to respect that while they may never fully get the other's passion or understanding it, they can still respect it. She is supposed to be like 6'4 because the actual sunflower plant on average is like 9' so she would be a real beefy boi, though I kind wished I made her more lank, but I'm not too torn up on it. I also made her bands all fluffy like sunflower petals uwu. My name idea for her was Sunnivia Vincent,, then her nickname would be "Sunny" eh? The last name is a reference to a certain artist who is famous for his sunflower still lifes among other things. I sort of want to put a dumb joke in about the latin name sounding like "anus" bit whatever. Also she gets a badass floppy sunhat that I am in love with. Lilac So first, though she's hunching in this lilac is supposed to be 6'6 cause Lilac is a tree which a lot of people don't know. I also like the idea of a bunch of 7' Red wood tree kids walking around while there are also like 4'10 moss or something. Lilac's look is inspired by ancient greek obviously because Lilac itself is native to the Balkan Peninsula. I couldn't tell you why I made her look shy. I did intentionally make her all done up with hair and makeup because I feel maybe trees are typically higher in society or something. Or maybe the trees typically stay in the cities and run politics like forests? I don't know honestly. She is wearing purple which is the color of royalty. Maybe I could go with how I did with Sunflower, in that Lilacs are often used for their oils and scent so maybe she could be a healer or like cleric. I also gave her olive skin not just because of the Balkan Peninsula,,, but because Lilacs are also apart of the Olive family. In terms of her name I think the obvious one is Lila, but I want to hear more suggestions. Maybe a Greek Name? That's all for now! I defiantly want to explore this topic more, I've already made sketches of cities. I think it is very fitting that I thought of this in June given it is Pride Month which is all about embracing and accepting LGBTQIA individuals. Again I highly urge you to leave your comments on this idea, names, or maybe even your own head canons! I'm sorry about any of the coloring and anatomical issues in this, they're only meant to be sketches and also I need to get better at drawing hats. Thank you for reading through my crap//

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killmonger-queen · 6 years

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Goofy Ass

Erik Killmonger x Reader

AN: This one's for my shy, awkward and weird bitches. In the fics I read all the girls is always this super sexy, confident goddess. And even tho I agree with the concept a bitch can't really relate LMFAO! Like I'm so awkward and shy I don't have the confidence to be doing all that sexy freaky shit, I get embarrassed just writing smut sometimes. So I decided to pair Erik with a bitch like me, the mc is basically me y'all. Soo hopefully y'all enjoy this, cause I liked writing it a lot.

Warnings: Cursing and shit!!! Most likely typos

You untwisted your last bantu knot and ran your fingers through the curl to unravel it the way you wanted to. Once satisfied, you dropped your heavy arms to your sides and let out a sigh of relief. Taking those out always took so fucking long. But you had to admit, your hair looked great, I guess all those long hours you stayed in your mom's hair salon watching her work her magic on all the ladies in the neighborhood heads paid off well. You left the bathroom and shuffled reluctantly into your bedroom. Makeup: check. Hair: check. The last thing to do was get dressed. You groaned as you stared at the box laying on the bed. You rolled your eyes and flung the lid off and on to the fur rug that lay across the floor. You stared down at the black lace lingerie you ordered about a week ago.

You had been planning this for a while. Erik's birthday. You knew you wanted to do something special for him, and this was the thing you knew he'd want the most. You. With your face beat, hair did, and in something extremely sexy. This might not seem like a grand gesture to most girls but the thing was you were the biggest tomboy ever. Oversized hoodies and ripped jeans were more your suit and you usually just would wash your hair and rock it natural or wrap it up in a scarf. The sexiest thing you've ever worn were his boxers and t-shirt in bed. You didn't mind makeup at all but you only wore it every now and then, especially because that shit was expensive. And Erik loved that about you, you didn't try to hard to look like these Instagram models. But he did complain that he'd like to see a little more of your sexy side. And you hated to admit it but he was kinda right. You were lacking in the sexy department. It wasn't like you didn't wanna be more sexy with him, it was just the fact that you were so fucking awkward. You grew up with a twin brother who taught you how to fight and skateboard. He taught you how to play Jimmy Hendrix's song on his guitar and showed you how to properly roll a blunt. You loved your mom but would rather die than ask her advice on shit like this. So you just never learned. But you loved Erik and knew that he deserved a little more effort from you. And it was his birthday after all. So you set your pride aside for a moment and slipped out of your sweatpants. You removed your t-shirt and hesitantly reached for the lingerie. You heald it up in front of you, it was soft and silky and felt nice in your hands but you worried you wouldn't pull it off properly. You tried not to think about it as you slipped it on. You did you best to avoid the mirror, not even wanting to see your reflection, you thought that if you saw yourself you'd chicken out. There was one last thing you needed. Heels, you weren't gonna put those on until the last minute cause you knew you couldn't walk very well in them, they were just for show. You slipped them on, they were only 3in heels but it took you a minute to get used to them. You looked at the time. SHIT! Erik would be home any minute now. You marched into the kitchen, wobbling as you go, and took the cake out the fridge. It was strawberry shortcake, you and Erik's favorite. You got out candles and lit them before dimming the lights, just in time to hear Erik's car pull up the driveway. Your heart rate spiked as you instinctively started biting your lip, stopping abruptly when you remembered you were wearing lipstick, you cursed under your breath and prayed none got on your teeth. You licked them just to be safe. You heard the front door close and seconds later he was calling your name. "Babe, you home? Why all the lights out, I know I just paid Con Edison." He almost walked past the kitchen before he noticed the small light coming from the candles on the cake, and backpedaled. You started singing happy birthday slow and smoothly as he walked up to you, an ear-splitting grin on his face. "Make a wish baby," you said once you were done singing. He leaned down and closed his eyes, it was quiet for a few seconds before he finally blew out the candles, leaving you in darkness, he flicked the kitchen lights on, knowing exactly where the switch was and you squinted your eyes as they adjusted to the brightness. You set the cake down and gave him a kiss. You felt his arms sling around your waist as he pulled you closer. You breathed in his scent and savored the taste of his lips before you parted from them, you opened your eyes to find him staring at you in surprise. "What's wrong?" He takes your hand and spins you around. "Look at you ma!" You completely forgot you were all done up. Blood rushed to your cheeks and heated them as he twirled you around, his eyes never leaving your body. "Happy birthday!" You said, bringing your lips back to his in a passionate kiss. "Want some cake?" before he even answered you went into your silverware drawer and grabbed a knife, cutting into the cake. "You want the middle piece or the end?" You looked up at him, but his eyes were already on you. "Fuck the cake, I want a piece of you shawty." He walked up to you slowly, his soft brown eyes darkened with lust. You dropped the knife, letting it clatter on the table. He wasted no time bringing his lips to your neck, sucking and biting along your throat up to your jawline. As amazing as his lips felt against your skin you had other plans for the night. You regretfully pulled away. "Not yet, I've got another surprise for you, follow me." He quirked a curious eyebrow at you as an amused grin spread across his full lips. He followed you out of the kitchen without a word as you led him into your bedroom. You couldn't stop the giddiness filling you up as you entered your room. He watched you, his smile mirroring yours. "Sit." You said as you pointed to the edge of the bed. He shot you another curious look but obeyed your request. "Bossy, I like it." He said with a mischievous smirk. You rolled your eyes and grabbed your phone, connecting it to the Bluetooth speakers. Soon 'Pony' by Ginuwine spilled from the speakers. Erik released a hearty laugh once he realized what was happening. You started dancing sensually or at least doing your best to look as seductive and sexy as possible. You caressed your thighs as you swayed your hips to the beat. Erik gave a nod of approval, boosting your confidence. You had no idea what you were doing, you were just going with the flow of the song and trying to do what felt right, though none of this felt natural to you. In the middle of your sexy dance, you decided to spin around, showing yourself off once more for him, but you spun a little to fast and ended up losing balance in your heels, you fell on the rug, thankful for it softening your fall. "Oh babe!" Erik said through laughter. "I don't mean to laugh but shit!" He said chuckling. "You alright?" You couldn't help but laugh with him. You nodded Even though you just busted your ass you were having a lot of fun. He beamed at you. "You know you're too much, bring your goofy ass over here." You kicked off the stupid heels and got to your knees. slowly crawling slowly over to Erik. Once you were in between his legs you looked up at him through your lashes. Grabbing his thighs, you used them to push you up and on to his lap. He grabbed your waist and you leaned down, bringing your lips to his. He pulled you closer and deepened the kiss, moving his tongue against yours. You moaned against his lip as you grabbed a fist full of his dreads. "How'd you like your little surprise?" You whispered to him one you finally separated. He smiled against your lips. "I never thought I'd see you like this" He ran his hands across your lingerie. "You know I love you just the way you are, but shit, a nigga could get used to this." You rolled your eyes and playfully slapped his arms. "Well don't!" You laughed. "This is for special occasions. I'm not busting my ass again." He laughed again. "Yeah, you hit the floor pretty hard." You rolled your eyes but grinned. "I love your goofy ass, you know that? Thank you for real, you stepped out of your comfort zone for me, that means a lot." He said, his tone a little more serious. You nodded. "I love your crazy ass too. Happy birthday Erik." He smiled and kissed you again, and again, and again.

#erik killmonger smut #erik killmonger #black panther #black panther fanfic #black panther fanfiction #erik killmonger x reader #micheal b jordan

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flwrpotts · 6 years

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1, 4 and 18 for bughead. (I love angst okay, also feel free to just pick one or two or whatever, I’ll take anything from you 😍)

omg im so sorry about the wait on this!!! thank you so, so much for these asks and I hope you enjoy!!!

1. “Do you want me to leave?”

4. “You can’t keep doing this.”

18. “I shouldn’t be in love with you.”

i. “God, could she be any more artificial?” asks Toni, disdain soaked all the way through her voice, like a sheet of paper drenched in gasoline.

Jughead looks up from his whiskey soda and sees Elizabeth Cooper, swamped by admirers at the front of the room. He shouldn’t be surprised to be at the same opening party as her- they’re on the same label, after all. And yet, there’s something shocking about seeing her in real life, not transmitted by the blurred out waves of a television screen.

Like always, she’s in shades of pastel and bubblegum, hair curled in ringlets around her shoulders and lips coated in a sticky, nearly reflective gloss. She blinks, and her unnaturally long, glittery eyelashes brush her brow bone.

She looks like plastic. Smooth, unblemished, and yet, somehow flimsy. Like you could stick a pin through her, and she wouldn’t even feel it. Jughead is suddenly and insistently reminded of an article he read about her once, just as she was first hitting it big. She’s the sort of girl who never laughs, only smiles.

“All those pop girls are like that,” he says dismissively, and Toni laughs meanly, but he cannot help but watch her for a beat too long. Discomfited, he swallows his drink and wades through the crowd of ghost thin models (heroin chic, they’re calling it now) for a refill.

ii. He was labelled a sell out before he even sold, product of being the kid of an almost-famous rock star, one of those burnt out near-supernovas.

The critics never tire of talking about it; rewind the clock a decade or two, and F.P Jones and Freddy Andrews were the hottest things on the scene, smashed bottles to smash hits, with the sort of chemistry between them that crackled through the live shows like a bolt of lightning.

Jughead knows the players, if not the story.

His father- the charismatic, volatile addict, with magic in his hands and whiskey in his veins, too unstable to ever hold onto anything for very long. Fred Andrews- sweet and talented and the only person F.P was ever truly scared to lose.

They only released one critically-acclaimed album before falling apart, a whole slew of cheating scandals and rehab rumors and and F.P’s drunken Vegas wedding to a young poet, whose journals he later riffed through for “inspiration,” a little more Bukowski than Fitzgerald.

Jughead’s parents had divorced when he was fifteen, and he hasn’t seen his father since. But it’s an undeniable truth that F.P passed his raw, unchanneled talent on to his only child.

Jughead never quite forgives him for it.

iii. The band is just him and Toni, and is barely even a real band, if he’s being perfectly honest with himself.

Him and Toni met as teenagers, two pretentious, angsty fifteen year olds stuck in the middle of Ohio, spending too much in the library and bonding over their shared taste in music. They had bought cheap, falling apart instruments at a local thrift store, and the rest was history.

They still aren’t technically called anything, ever since their first bar show where he had mumbled “Um, I’m Jughead. We don’t really have a name” into the mic and started playing.

It’s a childish sort of rebellion against the trappings of success, him refusing to give a proper title to the notoriety that’s fallen into his lap.

He used to think that making it for real would rid him of his father’s ghost once and for all. But one album in, and he’s learned that it’s all business, all show, the music an afterthought to the whole production.

Management wants him to get into fights, to play shows with his shirt unbuttoned all the way down, to have a breakout album or maybe just a breakdown. Something salacious, something to sell, a high profile affair, maybe.

He can’t complain about it, really- some people waste their entire youth away waiting for a big break, after all. He and Toni had only played three shows when the agent in the back of a grimy bar had caught his surname and gotten them a flight to L.A the next day. He should be grateful, for the platinum albums and the expensive bottles of champagne and the teenage girls in the audience that scream along to the lyrics.

But he can’t help but notice the darker underside to all that glitter and gloss, the seedy underbelly that people prefer not to notice. Jughead’s got addiction in his blood, and knows a lot of addicts coming from where he did, but it feels futile in the wake of all these pretty boys and girls being handed pills by their managers like candy. His father got caught in that riptide and was dragged all the way down under the water, never to resurface again, not totally.

Jughead can’t play their games. Not can’t as in won’t, can’t as in am not capable. The only thing he’s good for is popping open a vein and bleeding onstage. Somehow, it’s enough.

iv. Betty Cooper’s brand is good girl, and she does it well, all tulle dresses and blonde hair and sticky-sweet love ballads that always sound happy, even the sad ones.

They bill her and Veronica Lodge as rivals, tabloids conveniently forgetting that the two used to be best friends as children, hauled around by their respective mothers-turned-agents to auditions for commercials and music videos. They were on the Mickey Mouse Club together, too, back when they were still too young to understand what words like show business meant.

Articles run constantly about the both of them, about Veronica’s constant partying and the half-assed coverups of her hospital stays, or about their supposed spats- showing up to events in the same dress, fighting over boys, the works. The sort of high school stuff that people never get sick of.

Jughead has no idea how deep their feud never runs, but at the very least, it’s profitable.

Betty performs at the VMAs, and she’s good, but Veronica blows her out of the water, writhing around on stage with a snake and doused in glitter. The whole thing is a joke: Veronica’s lip syncing is bad enough that he doesn’t even know if she’s singing the right song, and she’s obviously on something or another, but her hair is still shiny and her smile is still gleaming and she still has some indefinable star power that means the people in the audience don’t care if she’s stumbling on stage.

The cameras all pan on Betty’s polite, pleased smile after she loses four nominations in a row, and Jughead cannot help but admire the way that her mask doesn’t crack, not even for a minute.

v. As it turns out, they’re recording albums at the same time, in rooms next to one another in the studio, and Toni spends hours crafting finely point barbs for Strawberry Shortcake, as the more vicious tabloids like to call her. She hates her on principle, and Jughead doesn’t begrudge her that.

But Betty mostly keeps to herself, curling up on the couch in the studio with oversized headphones and a book. Her manager, a vicious redhead that’s related to her in some complicated technicality he doesn’t care to keep track of, is fiercely protective of her, and sweeps away the press that lingers outside with a ruthless sort of efficiency. She doesn’t seem to have many friends, either, despite the gaggles of girls dressed identically to her that she’s always being photographed with.

He and Toni get into a sweeping fight one day about the bridge of their latest song, and he storms off, yanking at his beanie and looking for a place where he doesn’t have to play nice with anyone.

He somehow finds his way onto the roof, and much to his surprise, Betty is already up there, looking surprised at the interruption.

She’s the most dressed down he’s ever seen her, in a baggy pair of overalls and her styled hair coming undone from the wind. There’s a book in her lap, and Jughead is both surprised and a little thrilled to see it’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.

“Little dangerous up here, don’t you think?” he asks, taking in the complete and total lack of safety parameters around the roof, and the lock that looks like it was prised open with a hairpin.

Betty glances down at the pack of cigarettes in his right hand and arches an eyebrow. “We all have our vices.”

“Do you want me to leave?” he asks instead of arguing her point, only a little awkward.

“You don’t have to,” she says, and so he flops down beside her and teases her about classical literature, instead.

vi. Betty is engaged, to the lead singer from some truly terrible boy band, The Archies. Their music is mainstream, all generic pop and meaningless declarations of love, but his jawline is sharper than glass, and they look good together, objectively.

“It’s all for show,” Betty tells him, corner of her mouth pulled up in a wry smile.

They’re on the old studio couch, Betty with a biography in her lap (Marilyn: Norma Jean, by Gloria Steinem) and her feet propped up on his knee, her toenails painted a sparkly, pastel blue.

Jughead, for his part, is scribbling in an old, leather notebook, tooling around with lyrics. I’m lonely so I do lonely things he writes, and then immediately crosses out.

“So what’s the point? You’re engaged to someone you don’t even have an interest in.” he asks.

She shrugs, a little defensive. “We’re friends. The engagement is helping album sales for both of us. And besides, Archie is completely in love with Veronica, but his label doesn’t want him to be seen publicly with her, because of her, you know–” she waves, a gesture he presumes to mean out of control partying.

He gnaws on the end of his pen, processing.

“What’s the endgame?” he asks slowly. “You can’t keep doing this- you’ve already been engaged a year and a half. Are you just going to marry him? ”

This time it’s Betty’s turn to look pensive. She twists the obnoxiously huge heart shaped diamond around her ring finger.

“It seems like a contradiction, but marrying him would give me a sort of freedom. Less attention from the press. I would be able to do more of what I want.”

“You’re selling away your future. I don’t see how that’s freedom.”

The smile Betty gives him is a little pitying. “Jug, I signed away my future the minute I released my first album. So did you. This is just- making the best of the circumstances”

He nods once, and his heart beats unsteadily when she links his fingers through hers.

vii. She does a set for MTV Unplugged a few weeks later, and he stops pretending that he isn’t going to watch about twenty minutes after it begins.

She lights up on the tiny television screen, and she’s a six hour plane ride away but his breath still catches in his chest.

Her makeup is a frosty shade of lavender that makes her look a little sickly, almost alien, and her voice is pretty and well-trained as she works her way through the set, song by song. She’s good, but it’s obvious that she had to work for it, that her pitch, while excellent, is not the product of natural talent.

But I swore I would never fall in love with a boy in a rock and roll band she sings at one point, tucking a lock of uncharacteristically loose hair behind her shoulder, and Jughead can’t quite work out whether he’s in on the joke or not.

You’re an enigma, Coop, he thinks to himself.

“Jesus,” sighs Toni from across the room. “You’re in love with Princess Peach, aren’t you?”

viii. Jughead and Toni stubbornly refuse to upgrade out of their shitty apartment, even though they can more than afford to move somewhere nicer now, but as a consequence he spends more nights than what is probably necessary at Betty’s place, a lovely, sharply modern loft full of a loneliness that seems to echo around the corners.

She’s got stacks and stacks of records, and even more books, and it only hurts a little bit when he spots his father’s album among the meticulously ordered piles. He puts on The Cardigans to distract himself, and laughs when Betty sings along a little bit, batting her eyelashes in perfect pop star imitation.

I don’t care about anything else but you she breathes, and he kisses her, pressing her into the marble counter while her arms come up to lace around his neck.

After they sprawl out on Betty’s comically oversized bed, Casablanca burbling away in the background with no audience to watch it.

Betty looks both younger and older with no makeup on, and Jughead studies the planes of her face in the dim room, the way her eyelashes curve when they aren’t laden down with extensions and her chapped, unglossed lips.

“You’re beautiful,” he says, because it’s true.

“It doesn’t matter,” she replies, twisting to face him in bed. “It used to, when I was younger, and more insecure. But there’s no accomplishment to being pretty. It’s a product. People think I’m beautiful because the makeup artist, and the photographer, and everyone else made me that way.”

She looks at him intently, like she wants him to understand, and somehow there’s a part of him that does. He wants to protest, to tell her that she is the loveliest thing that he has ever seen, but stops himself at the last minute.

“So what matters, then?” he asks instead.

She smoothes her unstyled hair behind her ear with the back of her hand, eyes faraway and dreamy, a murky shade of bottle green in the darkened room.

“I think I’d marry the person who told me I had an exquisite, wild soul.”

“You have an exquisite, wild soul,” he deadpans, and kisses away the sound of her laughter.

ix. F.P dies on a Thursday.

Body found in a motel room, alone, reads the article, and Jughead calmly puts down his newspaper, gets sick in the bathroom, and pours himself a double of scotch.

Toni is across the country, shooting the cover for some magazine called Sassy, or something, and so it’s Betty that comes to their apartment, trepidation scrawled across her face.

He’s already drunk, and sprawled out on the couch, all the blinds in the apartment pulled shut. He blocks one hand over his face at the slit of light that shines through the opened doorway. In the background, the T.V drones about the recent updates in the O.J Simpson trial, and really, it’s the purest form of misery that he’s ever experienced.

Betty sits down next to him on the couch, and he expects her to ask all the usual, obligatory questions, are you okay? or is there anything I can do?

Instead she says “I broke off my engagement with Archie.”

“Well, that’s just swell, sweetheart,” Jughead replies, injecting as much soft malice as he can into the words. “What, do you think this is fucking happily ever after? You should’ve stayed with Archie. I’m a- a god damned dead end road.”

Betty doesn’t react, just stares at him with those green, green eyes, as wavering and fathomless as the ocean.

“Juggie,” she says quietly. “Are you okay?”

He balls his hands into fists and presses them into his face, until he sees stars.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he admits quietly, into the stillness. “He was an asshole. I shouldn’t- this shouldn’t be the fucking apocalypse. God, and I’m just gonna stumble right on after him. I shouldn’t be making music. I shouldn’t be in love with you, Betty. I ruin everything I touch. Like father, like son.”

“Oh, Juggie,” Betty says, pressing a cool, small hand to his cheek, and he’s in tears before he even knows what he’s crying about, whether it’s what F.P was or what he wasn’t, what he lost or what he never had in the first place.

He presses his face into the fuzzy material of her mohair sweater, inhaling the familiar smell of her, and she cards a comforting hand through his hair, cooing nonsense reassurances.

“It’ll be okay,” she tells him, her voice steadying enough to dull the world spinning effects of the alcohol. “You’re gonna be okay.”

x. Things get better, slowly.

He attends the funeral, the entire thing sick and surreal, and pretends not to notice that his mother decided not to attend. Fred Andrews is there, though, red eyed and overdressed in a suit, and Jughead swallows bile when he sees the man tuck a pack of Marlboro Reds into an open casket.

Betty is there, too, and the press blows up when a reporter snaps a picture of them holding hands as they walk out of the chapel. He no longer finds it in himself to care what his publicist deems important.

He does start writing more though, filling up notebooks with his messy, slanted handwriting, and stops being so afraid that what he writes will be too similar to what his father wrote.

Him and Toni still argue constantly about the music, occasionally storming out of the studio in the force of their fury, but the album finally begins to come together, to feel like something real.

It’s a departure from their first, a little less angry, less punk, but somehow realer, too. There’s only two covers on this one, I’m on Fire, because singing it makes something in his chest feel jagged and shivering and fragile, and Highwayman, because even though he can’t find it in himself to cover one of his father’s original songs, he can cover one of the ones F.P had been fond of, back in the day.

Betty, for her part, quits her label after finishing up her five album contract, to her own delight and the media’s dismay.

“I always hated the posturing,” she tells him at a celebratory dinner, smile bright and sharp and free. “And besides, the technical aspect behind the scenes was always my favorite part. Singing was just a means to an end, and the cost wasn’t quite worth it.”

Rolling Stone hires her as a critic, and she writes keen, insightful album reviews, using her years in the business to shape the narrative around other people’s work.

The tabloids don’t know about them, quite yet, if only because they don’t hop clubs the way her and Archie used to get paid to do, though the redhead still often comes over to their apartment, bringing Veronica with him.

Ironically enough, it’s Betty that gets assigned to interview him and Toni, just at the beginning of the press junket, and he’s hit by a wave of fondness as she uncaps her pen, the picture of professionality.

“So, Jughead, this album has a distinctive departure in the lyrics from that of the previous album, though the sound is still quite distinctive. Is there a reason behind this evolution?”

Jughead looks at her, at Betty, with her blonde hair and her big eyes and her ability to look at him and see the mess inside his head and understand it, and there’s only one answer.

“Yeah,” he says. “I guess I fell in love.”

#hello this was probably in the top three most DIFFICULT things I have ever written #but like!#it's done thank god #also if anyone was wondering this is set in 1995 #bughead #betty cooper x jughead jones #mine #prompt fill

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