#{{ it is quite literally his 'Do It For Them' motivation board. Laughs }}

[frozenambiguity]

Ooc: Fears deep relationships you say? Well it's too late, he's older brother/role model/local coolest guy Kaeya, and he's Always got a spot with Bennett on the Old Monstadt Adventurers' Holiday Card Picture

(I joke but! If you ever want to slowly work a sibling relationship I'm open to it here. You really are a joy to interact with, and while I never want to pressure you, the door is wide open if you ever want to)

Concerning this post.

... And you bet that Kaeya is going to straight-up pin said Holiday Card picture to the corkboard he has in his office!! Just look at them!! The jovial smile on Bennett's face, Kaeya's hand resting on his shoulder. How precious.

Kaeya does not mind fulfilling the role of the older sibling to those in need. Bennett is no exception.~

[viviennevermillion]

With an s/o who is a writer

notes: so we have this now

contains: character x gn!reader, established relationship

characters included: leona kingscholar, rook hunt, idia shroud, malleus draconia

warnings: none

dark content creators & consumers do not interact

Okay so Leona is like, the last person in the cast who'd be into creative writing if it wasn't for the fact that he was dating a writer but he's supportive. He's got the spirit. Even if he has different priorities.

Literally comes into your room, sees you sitting at your laptop and working on a story and he's like: "Are ya winning?" He pulls a chair next to yours and rests his head on your shoulder, looking at your draft with you. "Tf am I supposed to be winning?", you chuckle and ruffle his hair, gently scratching his ear in the process. "I don't know, the recognition of the internet people or something. You were the one who said 'Spite can be a great writing motivation' if I recall correctly", he shrugs and presses a kiss to your cheek. "It's not a competition, you know?", you laugh and get up, shoving your chair to the side to sit on Leona's lap instead.

He doesn't mind just wrapping his arms around your waist and letting you sit on his lap while you write. He'll read along and rest his head on your shoulder from behind, wrapping his tail around you as well. Now you have a clingy oversized cat attached to you while you work on your latest project. Congrats. He probably falls asleep halfway through, not that you'd mind.

It took a while for you to feel comfortable to show Leona your writing, because the second prince of Sunset Savannah could be quite the judgemental person. Leona would never mock anything you cared about as soon as he started dating you but seeing his demeanor towards other people still made you hesitate. But Leona has been supportive of you ever since you talked to him about your passion, even if he doesn't quite get it. Honestly be glad Leona isn't someone who'd ever start writing because he's inspired by you, he would turn this into a competition.

If you post your works online, Leona makes an account on whatever platform you post them on solely to follow you and support you. If you work on something for several hours and get less notes than someone with two paragraphs Leona is more frustrated than you.

He originally just wanted to support you but he finds himself surprised at how the plot of your stories actually intrigues him and he's curious what happens next.

If you write poetry, he's less involved. He just doesn't get poetry. He's like "why don't they just say what they mean?"

If you ever get Leona to write anything it'd be literate roleplay. Only joins because you asked him but gets really into it halfway through. Wants to make his character cool and wants him to fight the other characters. He's like "this is my character, he's a king and he can do whatever he wants-"

Leona's stylistic device is using poetic descriptions in the same sentence with words like "bastard" and "shitfaced" and he somehow manages to actually pull this off

You took him to tabletop night with Idia and Azul once and he got himself perma-banned from Board Game Club because he fucked with their nerves so much that they never wanted to see him there again.

He's worried you might be mad at him at first. "Nah it was kinda funny", you reassure him, "though if we ever do this again it should probably just be the two of us..." Leona chuckles and pulls you close, pressing a kiss to your temple.

Rook writes poetry himself and he loves the arts so he's so on board with this.

But, listen. Rook is that one reader every writer wants but few of us actually get. He reads literally anything you write ever and he responds by sending you like a whole essay of his thoughts on the characters and the plot in depth and how it made him feel.

"Beauté", Rook tears up and pulls you into a hug, kissing your forehead enthusiastically, "I must thank you, mon chéri / ma chérie, by sharing the work you put your heart into with me and presenting me with the result of your creativity and passion; you have made my heart feel a little more complete and my mind more enlightened. Because you have chosen to let me view the beauty that is your prose and poetry, every day I get one step closer to truly call myself le chasseur d'amour! Truly extraordinary!" He takes your hands into his and looks deeply into your eyes as he tells you this; like he's confessing the full extent of his love to you. He cups your cheeks and kisses your lips softly, trying to convey all the feelings that overwhelm his heart and that words would never do justice to you.

He will gush about your works to Vil and Epel so much that they are tired of hearing about it.

He’d be happy if you tell him your thoughts about his poetry too. He writes a lot of it but he doesn’t really have anyone to talk about it with because most people just don’t get his poetry. But if you keep an open mind and give him some appreciation for what he wrote, Rook is so thankful and excited.

He’s so excited for anything new you write. “Feel free to notify me immediately once you’re finished with your newest chef-d'œuvre, even if it’s the middle of the night and I am asleep”, he smiles at you and kisses your hand. 

He’s not kidding, btw

He wakes up in the morning to see you snuggled up against him and he gives you a kiss on the forehead, waking you up softly. “Ugh…just 10 more minutes”, you groan and bury your face in his chest. Rook chuckles and runs his fingertips up and down your back. “You seem very tired, mon cœur”, he whispers and presses a kiss to your lips. You kiss back gently and wrap your arms around him. “Were you working on your newest oeuvre d'art until late at night again?”, he asks and shakes his head. He loves everything you make but he’d rather have you well-rested and comfortable. You confirm his suspicions with a tired nod. “Well, did you finish it?”, he asks. “Yes”, you mumble and try to hide from the rising sun by burying your face in his neck. “Didn’t I tell you to wake me up, so I can read it?”, he gets up and turns on your laptop, carrying it over to the bed so you can enter the password. “I thought you were exaggerating”, you shrugged and opened your finished project. “When have I ever exaggerated?”, Rook asks and wraps an arm around you while his eyes wandered across the document, “you should know best that all I express towards you is nothing but raw, unfiltered honesty.” You sigh. “Right, you have a point.”

Getting to read your newest work literally makes his day. Rook is your biggest fan definitely.

Okay you can't tell me Idia doesn't write fanfiction or at least read it. That man has been through every genre of fanworks.

You write? He admires that. You write fanfiction? Even better.

Send him soul-crushing angst of his favorite characters please, his reactions are so funny. He's like "why would you do this to my poor otaku heart HEFHHSJEHFHSBFDBSNFXNNENNSNR 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭"

He will literally commission you or request from you to write his ideas and surprise him with something he'd love.

He'd be like, kicking his legs and text you his live-reaction.

Idia is one of those people who request from you and make it so hyper-specific that you need to read into the lore of an entirely new game or anime just to even understand what exactly he wants. He'd send you "Can you write angst with this character if his love interest had the blood curse from the hit-game 'Below the 2nd Temple' but if the blood curse made you seek out the 5 goblets of wisdom and then drop dead. What would be their reaction to the one they love dearly leading such a pitiful existence? Oh and can you make the dragon from the sequel 'Below the 3rd Temple' appear at the end when the love interest runs out of horvathian gemstones?" and you sit there like what the fuck did he just say????

He's like "oh it's all on the official forum lore section" as if you're going to read in-depth lore for a game you never played just to write his angsty crossover AU.

"Why don't you write it yourself at this point?", you look at him and sigh. "But I love your works", Idia wraps his arms around you from behind and kisses your cheek repeatedly, pulling you into his lap.

He will absolutely try to bribe you into writing it. He'll offer you kisses and a nice, warm bath and a massage....whether you fall for it is up to you.

But he's so happy when he gets the final result. He geeks out about it to Azul who understands even less about the request than you when you first started working on it.

Idia would also do semi-literate and literate roleplay with you online.

Overall loves that you're a writer and will support you whenever you need it. Idia can actually be pretty creative himself so when you struggle to continue and lack an idea, he might just deliver exactly what you need.

Malleus has read many books throughout his lifetime. Be it biographies, fiction or textbooks about all kinds of topics. Most of them were outdated and the writing style of the novels he’s read has long since gone out of fashion. 

Malleus is mostly unfamiliar with the modern way of writing stories. Hell, many of the things he’s read have been written with a magical pen and ink. The Briar Valley castle libraries contain many books that are unique and don’t have any other copies in the whole world. The newer ones were written on a typewriter. 

He’s super interested when you tell him you write as a hobby for the first time. He’s seen many printed books since coming to Night Raven College but watching you just pull out your laptop and write a whole story in just a couple of hours is fascinating to him. He lets you sit on his lap and wraps his arms around you. He rests his head on your shoulder or against your head and watches as the words just seem to spill onto the pages. He reads along and asks you a couple of questions in the meantime, still being careful not to distract you though. 

“Why did the king say this to his daughter?”, Malleus asks with a surprised expression, “is he hiding something?” You chuckle. “You’ll find that out in about five chapters”, you turn around a bit to be able to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Malleus smiles and puts his hands on his hips. “And when do I get to read those?”, he asks and you let out a sigh. “Only god knows”, you bury your head in your hands, “if the heavens decide to randomly inject me with whatever writer steroids I was on when I wrote the first three chapters, it might be tomorrow after an all-nighter and an unholy amount of coffee. If things don’t go well it could be next New Year’s Day.” “But it’s January…”, Malleus sighs.

He’s always the first to witness all the frustrations that come with being a writer. He finds it amusing but he also hopes you always find the motivation and productivity you want. 

If you write poetry, Malleus always reads it with great interest, trying to search for messages within the lines. Before the two of you got together, this was how he’s been trying to look for hints of your feelings for him.

He’s so unfamiliar with the modern world that sometimes he finds out way later that something you mentioned in your works is in fact not a fictional thing you made up. He’ll smile at you and tell you how creative you are for coming up with all this fantastic and wondrous stuff and then you rent an apartment with him to stay at during your fourth year internships. “Wait, you’re telling me roombas are real???”, he just stares at the little apparatus cleaning your living room floor in awe. You raise an eyebrow: “You thought they were fake?” He just stares at you with a slightly confused expression.

Malleus is actually pretty easily motivated to write something himself. And he’s good at it too, given his eloquent way of speaking and writing that has been taught to him at a young age due to him being a prince. He has so many in-depth thoughts, it’s pretty easy for him to make detailed descriptions of something and bring a story to life. He projects a lot too. Like, you know him too well and you just know exactly where the lines in the story about the lonely gargoyle just wishing for a friend or for anyone to care about his feelings come from. But that’s a conversation for another day. 

[mejcinta]

HOTD S2 Episode 4 Review: OK, let's do this.

1.“I love my grandsire!” Lil Oscar Tully you are PRECIOUS!

2. “The only reason we know any of this is because of Baela’s efforts.” Look, I might just be slowly becoming a Jace shooter, lol. Especially if he continues justifiably challenging Rhaenyra’s reckless political choices idk.

3. “That castle is more crippled than I am, Your Grace.” Larys can be funny. I find it very interesting that he speaks of the ‘sapping’ nature of Harrenhal that takes up people’s mental faculties, which he supposes is already happening to Daemon. I wonder if this is a setup for what Aemond will sort of be unable to escape when he takes Harrenhal????

4. Aegon and Aemond tussling like siblings at the war strategy board was kind of adorable. On a serious note, however, it is BAFFLING witnessing how absolutely everything happens behind Aegon’s back and everyone undermines his authority. The council is rudderless and it quite frankly never felt that way for me in the book. This is overkill. I cannot suspend my belief.

5. Poor green council members always have to suffer Aegon and Aemond’s bratt-offs on the daily. It’s comical.

6. Aegon really cared so little to learn of his Targaryen heritage because for the longest time he felt disconnected and hated by Viserys who should’ve no doubt walked him through it using love, approval and attention as a means. He understands High Valyrian but bothers little to speak it. He is rebelling against his oppressors by not cooperating while Aemond rebels by perfecting and showing off. It really shows how they coped with Viserys’ neglect, their rivalry aside.

7. Daemon following Aemond’s phantom and encountering Alys Rivers. Very interesting! She definitely already knows about Aemond and the role he will play in the near future. Taking my Alysmond crumbs and running with them.

8. “YOU BORE ME. YOU ALL BORE ME.” Kingie, please. Chill!

9. “Do simply what is needed of you. Nothing.” Alicent does realize that Aegon isn’t pliable, submissive and passive like Viserys was, doesn’t she????? Aegon actually wants to DO something, not to be held captive by the designs of people in the shadows. And while his view might seem naïve it does show more initiative and drive than sitting and waiting to be controlled the way Viserys was with Otto. Also, you’d expect this amount of desperation from a father that’s grieving after his CHILD’S murder!!!!

10. “Grown tired of living?” Gwayne continues to make me laugh.

11. And Criston has been surreal as a hands-on, experienced battle commander so far. Love that for Fabien. I feel like respect is finally being put to Criston’s name.

12. Jace and Aegon both being their momma’s firstborns sons and being underestimated by them because of their youth, naivety and inexperience. I’m loving these parallels!!!!

13. SUNFYRE and Aegon playing in the dragonpit was so cute to watch. He’s like a golden retriever and Aegon pats him like a doggy. Sunfyre’s pink flames...amazing!! We’ve lost them way too soon, saw them for so short a moment!!!

14. Aegon really seems to be ‘stumbling upwards’ like Steve Toussaint once said. Charging into war unannounced so that he literally appears as protector of the realm, almost successfully killing his rival when he permits Arryk to impersonate Erryk, buying the approval of the smallfolk by offering free drinks in bars, surviving dragon fire… He is building something of a reputation for himself and it’s all by accident lmao.

15. More of this stupid prophecy shit from boring Rhaenyra uwuuuuuu.

16. LAENA cameo. I won!!! I love seeing Daemon acknowledge her importance and effect on his life.

17. I can’t believe they are they making me feel sorry for Rhaenys. I wonder what motivated her return to faceoff with Aemond: his heinous kinslaying/lawlessness OR the fact that the council would not appreciate her returning with no good results (i.e not having dealt the Greens a blow) or BOTH!

18. I demand to KNOW how Vhagar hid in the woods without House Staunton detecting her presence. Also her popping up out from under the RR castle to attack Rhaenys…wish I’d see how Aemond got there, you get me. I love observing the logistics. Ewan/Aemond is so PERFECT on Vhagar. That’s some serious dragon riding.

19. Aemond was straight flying  back to the crash site to finish Aegon before Rhaenys came after him. The fact that he didn’t care she was getting away is crazy to me. Allow Aemond some military intelligence, please.

20. Sunfyre fighting with every shred of strength he has to land on his belly so that Aegon won’t be crushed, and cradling him. Oh, my heart!

21. Was Sunfyre crying out for meemaw Vhagar as she was falling or am I insane???

22. Dad Criston was great. I cannot imagine the drama that lies ahead after this and how his relationship with Aemond and Aegon will be affected.

23. Alicent, girlie, you about to find a new thing to make you guilty and suicidal all over again! No worries, though, because you are STILL a million times more interesting than boring, righteous girlboss queen.

[dailycass-cain]

I was a masochist, because I wanted to see how the story ended (and wanted a the very least to own the Red Hood mini because I do love the creative team with that). So I asked a friend if I could borrow his copies of the issues I don't have. So here are my hopefully FINAL thoughts on Batman/Catwoman: Gotham War.

This was quite possibly the worst Batman x-over in quite some time. From the varying motivations of the main characters to the side characters. Nothing stood out from the beginning to the end.

If any one character comes off as "okay" throughout this event is Jason. Like, he gets the only motivation (again thin as it is), but at the very least he's the one who gets progression in this story.

From helping Selina to seeing how flawed Selina's plan is, to being kidnapped by Bruce then mentally tortured, and still fighting even after it.

Jason is the ONLY main member of the three (or four if you include Vandal) who exits the story still looking clean.

Bruce or Selina? Oh boy... both have some WONKY stuff in this and vary from issue to issue or page to page.

The thing is, this story could've just been easier by taking Selina out entirely and focusing on Bruce vs. the Bat Family.

Like, the entire Bat Family is paper thin in this story and quite possibly some of the worst use of them in a while.

I'm still flabbergasted at how awful Cass was treated in the story with zero character at all. I mean Batman vs. Robin #5 did as well, but even with that story there was a "meaning" to the madness with Cass in that.

She sat out most the main series until THAT issue. She's there along with the rest of the Bat Family to stall the possessed Bruce (which seems to be a recurring theme this entire year) until the mystical characters of the DCU arrive to exorcise him.

For that issue?

It works. I accept the jobbing because it's a mystical demon which is outside her norm (well not anymore).

I still have my issues with Batman vs. Robin, but it was waaay better at telling a story.

Here?

Everyone's appearance in this event is downright laughable and makes zero sense. I'm supposed to accept Cass is okay with Selina's plan throughout this? Even her among other characters gets ZERO voice on why they're on board with this.

A quick fix again would've been when she saw the signs of Bruce's mental instability with the Zur influence growing larger.

Heck, the now INFAMOUS Batman #137. The issue is awful storywise and all it serves is the wrestling equivalent to this with Bruce vs. Cass:

All so Bruce can get a "W" over Cass. Joy. 🙄

When themactically it could've shown Zur's influence that a move Bruce wouldn't be ready for and Zur is.

BUT NOPE. We get that with him against Dick in #138 instead.

I'm not even going into details with the final issue of the event in Batman/Catwoman: Gotham War- Scorched Earth #1.

It just makes everything worse. Bruce passes it all on Dick and um yeah… none of the female characters of the family get ANY say. 🙃🙃🙃

I said last month I'm dropping Batman ongoing from my pull, and I'm sticking with that choice with Tec replacing it fully. I just don't enjoy the comic any longer. When you don't enjoy a comic you cut it off and don't continue to read it for any enjoyment purposes.

Literally, Cass's entire point in Batman run so far has been to job. There has been ZERO characterization for the character. Why I dibbed Cass in this "Card Cain". If you're gonna treat the character that way, well.

I'm out.

Detective Comics is giving me a better story of Bruce falling out mentally, and better-crafted antagonists who feel like a threat to him and others.

I'm more hype for Cass in that because it feels like the book treats each character better. EVERYONE gets to shine.

Batman/Catwoman: Gotham War burned me the heck out of the two leads. Again, I'm far more interested in what happens with Jason next and glad his "mini-series" basically turned into a setup for the finale to the current Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing ongoing.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to put my friend's copies downstairs. Probably tell him next Thurs to bury them in his bins never to be read, or just sell this as a bundle for some poor soul to buy.

I hope this is the final time I ever talk about Batman/Catwoman: Gotham War.

Save for Card Cain. I can't hate Card Cain.

[lazyauthor9000]

Casey jones jr x singer! reader plz!

A/N: Sorry this took a while to get out, BUT WE LOVE CASEY JR HERE, MUAH. Also, as I've said in my rules, please do make sure to add how you want it, or it may not be to your satisfaction!

Paring: Rise!Casey Jr. x GN!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Type: One-shot

WARNINGS: None

Reader: Gender-neutral

"I've only ever heard these in stories, but seeing it in person is just... Wow!" Casey was really amazed by all the beauty and life buzzing around the cities. It was a big change for him, really. After literally being hunted down for years and having no rest with having to keep on a look out constantly, it was uncomfortable at first but he was starting to get the hang of it.

Currently in the underground city, Leonardo was walking along with his brothers, seeing around until his eyes landed on something. "Hey, guys, take a look at this!" Leo looked all giddy so Casey walked over and stood next to the blue turtle. It was a poster. There was no other explanation and Casey could only raise an eyebrow in confusion, "Who's this?"

Leo was about to explain until Donnie and Mikey pushed him aside, "That's (Name), their band is the most popular as of right now." "I've been a fan ever since their first song came out!" Donnie sighed in content until he was pushed aside by Leo. Mikey nervously laughed and quickly went to check out art supplies that were on display.

"Any-ways... Since you haven't developed a good taste in music yet, I thought maybe we could take you to one of their concerts." Leo grinned. Raph nodded, "Not a bad idea, Leo! I'll grab the snacks when we get there."

"Yeah! I'll go ahead and text Sunita and Cassandra if they'd like to come." April had already taken her phone out, quickly sending out a message.

"Donnie will buy the tickets-."

"On it."

Casey could only chuckle at their antics, wondering what in the world a concert was.

~~~

(Name) appeared on the stage. They stood in the front of the spotlight, trying to see through the fog. (Name) breathed in, then out. It was time to give a performance.

They put on a bright smile, "Are you all ready to hear some music?!" They moved their mic towards the crowd, hearing the cheers from the audience. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!"

The crowd only cheered louder. (Name) nodded in satisfaction, putting the mic to their lips when the drums and electric guitar started.

Casey was mesmerized. Their vocals, the way they moved to the rhythm, just everything about them had Casey choked up.

Leo noticed this and nudged the boy, winking teasingly and cheering along with the crowd. Casey's eyes just wouldn't leave their form.

After such an experience, he couldn't stop talking about it. The turtles were glad they took him, as he seemed to look a lot brighter than other days.

~~~

A few months have passed since that fateful day of his first ever concert, and since then he's been getting to know about their music. Casey became obsessed like never before. The songs that played in his earbuds almost everyday really motivated him to keep moving forward.

And here we are. After a while in waiting in line, Casey nervously looked up and saw (Name), his literal idol. He was at a meet and greet that everyone urged him to go to, and so he took that chance.

He was stiff as a board as he walked up to the stand, making (Name) chuckle as they waved, "Hey! How are you today?" They greeted excitedly, grabbing a marker to sign whatever Casey brought. Casey tried to seem confident, but he couldn't help but feel so nervous. He gave (Name) a white t-shirt as he tried to calm his nerves. "I'm doing well, how about you?"

(Name) signed the shirt and looked up at him, "I'm doing quite well myself, thank you for asking!" Casey felt his heart swell at that. Seeing as he was the last person in line, (Name) urged him to sit down and talk.

"So, what do you think about my music?" They asked, interested in what he had to say. At that, his thoughts, questions, everything that was on his mind had eagerly flooded from his mouth.

(Name) welcomed it with a big smile as they answered some questions and left some out to figure out on his own. They both got along quite well, it was refreshing not having to put on a fake smile all the time.

(Name) became intrigued by the boy. They couldn't place their finger on it, but he felt... Different, somehow. Not in a bad way, of course. As Casey rambled on, (Name) listened, chiming in here and there so as to not stop him from talking as they quite enjoyed his company. The time finally came where Casey had to leave as time ran out for both of them.

Although a bit bummed, he felt light and a lot more warm than usual. He didn't know what to call this feeling, as it was a first.

"It was great talking to you, I'll be looking forward to seeing you again at my future concerts!" (Name) smiled and got an idea. They grabbed a sticky note and quickly scribbled down something. "I don't give my number to just anyone, so keep this between us, yeah?" They handed it to Casey.

Casey stared in awe, quickly nodding, "Of course. Thank you for your time, it was a pleasure meeting you!"

Bidding your goodbyes, Casey knew he would never forget this day as he exited out of the building. He smiled to himself and neatly folded the paper to stuff it into his pocket.

A/N: Trying to get the feel of writing again, hopefully this was okay and you enjoyed it. <3 If anyone is interested in giving writing tips, I'm all ears!

[writefightandflightclub]

A lasting impression (Steven Grant x fem!reader)

Summary: Steven falls asleep on you. No… I mean literally on you.

Reader: fem! Vagina-owner. She/her pronouns. Gendered language e.g. girl, pretty.

Author’s note: I couldn’t resist a second bash at Steven. I adore him 🥺 Written largely before Ep2, so it’s Ep1-centric.

Genre: one-shot, fluff, pining, meet cute, silliness, but also angst I’M SORRY. Definite angst. (If you don’t want the angst and think ignorance is bliss, stop reading at the heading “the next day” for a far fluffier experience. Either version should feel complete.)

Rating: Mature for mentions of sex. NO SMUT.

Warnings: EPISODE 1 SPOILERS. Mentions of: memory lapses / time-skipping / sleep disorders - inc. insomnia, night terrors (reader). Loneliness. Sex references (nothing explicit). Swearing. Rejection themes. Not proofed very well.

“Oh god no,” you hiss, upon seeing the limp torso of the stranger in the row opposite you begin to cant dangerously towards the aisle. The priorly sleepy (now sleeping) stranger has been nodding off intermittently for the whole bus journey so far, causing his pretty curls to bounce and flop over his forehead in a way which has kept drawing your eye.

If you don’t intervene soon, however, the crumpled heap of him on the floor will be drawing your eye, as the bus zooms dangerously fast around a loose corner. And so, you urgently shuffle your bum to the aisle-edge of your seat, stretching your arm out across the space to nudge the man into a more upright position. Your palm contacts his arm gently, but with enough force to redirect his centre of balance; just right.

It’s often amusing to watch someone fall asleep on public transport, you think. The gradual head loll, followed by the sudden jerking awake? The embarrassed look around - sometimes an abrupt, rough snore snatching them awake, the kerfuffle resulting in covertly passed laughter - little bundles of joy spread between the other passengers with a stifled laugh behind a palm here, and mirth-sparkled eye contact there? Cracking entertainment, that. At least, it is when you’re out of data for the month and can’t watch videos of cats taking baths to amuse you on the route home. However, with this guy… it’s simply not funny. The sheer aura of despondency he wears like a cloak sees to that. All you want to do is hug him. Sing him a lullaby. He looks flat enough, deflated enough, that you could lie him on your floor and use him as a bath mat. Of course, apart from those persistent, voluminous curls.

But, it’s more than that. There’s something else about him which means you’re simply not laughing.

Instead, you’re… looking.

Is it his infeasibly long lashes, fanning out over his cheek? The set of his sharp jaw bobbing gradually towards his chest? His broad hands, resting - palms up - against his denim-clad thighs?

You snatch your eyes away. Christ. You’re sure this can’t be right. You don’t think it’s illegal, but surely it can’t be right to - effectively - watch someone sleeping, can it? Without their knowledge? Even on a bus, there’s surely rules for that sort of thing?

Regardless, for the sake of his physical safety (quite aside from any -ahem- personal motivations you may have), you’ve been keeping a pretty close eye over in his direction ever since he’d boarded. You’d watched him shuffle aboard the bus, immediately dropping his Oyster card on the floor, and almost losing the lid off that bright pink, heart-shaped box of chocolates - currently tucked under one elbow - while he bent to retrieve it. He’d practically gone full Frank Spencer.

Well. Typical Steven, you’d thought to yourself as you saw the scene unfold. This poor bugger can never seem to catch a break.

Oh, yes, that’s right - you do know his name.

And whilst he’s technically a stranger, in that you’ve never been formally introduced, you know a fair few other things about him too.

You’re not a stalker or anything - it’s just that by divine intervention, this rather cute man has happened to share your bus route for the past few months; a fact which utterly delights you (that full-on tummy butterfly level of delight) - around 8:30am and at 5:30pm, Tuesday through Friday.

In your past few months of very distant admiration of him, you have learned a few things. You know, for example, that he alights for work near Museum Street. You know that he’s a bit of a bookworm - ancient history, puzzles, and poetry almost exclusively. That he drinks an unholy amount of coffee from a large keep-cup. (Oat milk too - you’d noted the little barista-applied sticker that one time.) You know that while he’s seemingly awkward and generally knackered as all fuck while he’s awake…he’s positively breathtaking when he’s sleeping.

You know that his name is Steven. Never Steve or Steve-o or anything else. You know this, because you’ve overheard copious sweet voicemails he’s left for his mum on his journeys home, detailing whatever he’s been up to that particular day. He’s so soft spoken that you never quite catch the details, but you can’t miss his sign-off of “Laters, gators”, which makes your face split with a bright, involuntary grin whenever you hear it.

You’ve learned something about yourself too, through your casual but routine observances of him. You’ve learned that you clearly have a soft spot for environmentally-conscious history nerds with pretty, dark curls; because you’ve definitely developed a little bit of a soft spot for him.

Finally, and probably most importantly, you’ve come to learn which his correct bus stop is too. A knowledge which, unbeknownst to Steven, has saved his hide on a number of occasions.

After witnessing his abject dismay, several times now - the man having jerked himself awake moments too late, watching his stop slink by the window in a blur with gentle, resigned despair - you took it upon yourself to intervene. To offer a little helping hand.

Your interventions are subtle, to say the least. Sometimes you will cough loudly -once- within earshot, or stage a very sudden telephone call at just the right volume to be mildly intrusive. Sometimes, you will simply nudge him awake with a gentle hand, pressing the bell on his behalf with a soft smile so that by the time he comes to, filtering through the layers of sleep and back to reality, he finds the bus pulling-in precisely where he wishes to alight, and at just the right moment.

Yes, your interventions are subtle… but perhaps a little too much so?

You’ve noticed him - can’t help but notice him - but you don’t believe he’s noticed you.

How could he, you suppose, when he won’t meet your gaze, whenever you bravely attempt to spark up a conversation or share a smile? Or, how could he see you when his eyelids are always dropping with tiredness - or closing altogether as he drifts off. Why would he notice you, anyway? Someone like him? Someone as perfect as him?

Still, you hold out hope that one day you might finally make a lasting impression. Especially after that one day recently, when he finally paid you some direct attention.

He had looked a little different that day. More awake, for starters - maybe that had been it. He’d been standing taller. Carrying a gold fish in a small plastic bag, arm hung down by his side. And, when he had boarded the bus, as usual, he had noticed you right away. His big brown eyes had snagged on yours. He had appraised you confidently, instead of shyly, offering you an effortless smile as he had looked you up and down. Successfully walking a fine line of being appreciative, without it coming off at all as lecherous.

He’d looked at you. Really looked at you, and you’d thought about him all day after that. Then, you had barely stopped thinking about him since.

“Jesus Christ, Steven,” you grumble in the present moment, as his torso once again sways precariously.

In response, thinking on your feet, you slot yourself hurriedly into the vacant seat next to him, so that you can better subdue his near-perilous movements.

Jesus. The bus driver is particularly chaotic today. Must want to get back to the depot stat, given this is the last bus of the night and his shift will be due to end.

You’re riding the bus home later than usual today, after seeing a late night exhibition. You’d taken yourself, on your monthly “self-date” - because none of your friends seem to be quite as into the “weird” and/or “shit” things you personally enjoy frequenting. And so, given the lateness, you were very surprised to see Steven appear here at the same time too.

Even stranger than that, was the fact that he’d been on a date by himself too. You’d quite accidentally eavesdropped on today’s voicemail to his mum. Given that the bus was near empty at this hour - aside from a cantankerous looking woman sat on the folding seats at the front, and a bunch of drink-addled football fans (wasn’t the match yesterday?) singing up in the top deck - it would have been hard not to overhear. He’d told his mum that the date had gone well. That she’d loved the chocolates and the flowers. Yet, between the fact he was alone, still had both those items in his possession, and looked like he was about to burst into tears at any given moment, you deduced that was a lie. Or; if not a lie, at least a truth he couldn’t bear to hear out loud quite yet.

You’d guessed that maybe he was stood-up, from context, and you find yourself wishing desperately that you could have switched places with his date tonight. You would have shown up. You would have told him how handsome he looks in this black buttoned-up shirt of his. You would have kissed him goodnight, if he’d wanted to kiss you too.

How sad, you think - your eyes sweeping over the now crushed roses - that you were both out tonight alone, each of you wishing for some company.

You shuffle a little closer to Steven, keeping as much of a respectful distance as you can on the seat. You clip your hand on to his arm like a little Lego person’s, pinning him in place and making sure he’s more or less maintaining his upright position. No danger of his face colliding with anything here. Not under your watch.

The woman at the front of the bus looks judgementally at you for it. Or, maybe that’s simply her face and you are using her as an avatar for judging yourself. “I’m not robbing him or anything,” you shout-whisper in her direction. “Just want him to keep all his teeth.”

You like his teeth. They’re perfectly imperfect.

As you ponder on that thought, the bus jerks to a sudden stop, the driver leaning out of the window and shouting at some poor cyclist. And, of course, the slamming on of brakes causes Steven to jerk awake.

Oh shit. You hadn’t thought about what would happen when he woke up.

Here you are, sat right next to the bloke, in a different seat than you had been in before, on an almost empty bus. Steven’s eyes open slowly, and he looks at you in rightful confusion. “Hello.” You greet shakily, still clutching on to his jacket. Oh damn. You really hadn’t thought this all the way through, had you? “I’m not trying to rob you or anything. I just wanted you to keep all of your teeth,” you blurt hurriedly, falling back on your last coherent thought.

His eyes widen and he lifts a hand to his mouth and jaw in concern, feeling his face with his fingertips and drawing them down to look at them, as though he expects them to come away covered in blood or something. He seems exceptionally relieved that his teeth and jaw remain intact.

Fuck. You hadn’t meant to alarm the man.

“Hiya?” he says then, with a dazed, sleepy blink. And then… a slower blink. Well actually - it turns out - half a blink, since it results in him closing his eyes and not opening them again.

Yeah. Also known as sleeping.

He’s sleeping again.

So much for your lasting impression.

You sigh out a breathy laugh at your own expense and at the ridiculousness of the situation, but this time, as Steven keels over into the land of slumber, his head falls sideward, until it comes to rest softly on your shoulder. His head! On your mother-freaking shoulder!

“You sweet sleepy prince,” you chide far too fondly, thinking that perhaps, you can gently shrug him off before he settles there. However, your gentle jostling fails to rouse him, and you don’t have the heart for anything more vigorous.

Well shit. What do you do now?

Is this… okay? You know him and he doesn’t know you. Not at all. Is it okay to let someone sleep on your shoulder if they don’t know they’re doing it but you do know that they are and they don’t know that you do know them even though they don’t know you, or what?

Wow. Your gold medalist sprinting thoughts race to the worst case scenario, as they usually do, and you are practically running through your defence before the jury in your head within moments. “I wasn’t robbing him, your honour!”

Alright, you think, after a few deep, calming breaths. It’s alright. You don’t think it’s illegal to let someone who fell asleep on your shoulder continue to rest there. Possibly not even morally objectionable either. If anything, aren’t you doing him a favour? Letting him get some proper shut eye? He sure as hell seems to need it.

You gulp though. Because, oh god. What happens this time when he wakes up? Wakes up nuzzled into you? You’ve left it too long now as well. You’ve let this whole goddamn situation spiral out of control and there’s no possible way you can ever come back from this, is there?

You fix your eyes straight ahead in panic at the fact you now have a glorious Steven head parroting on your shoulder, light little puppy snores sounding from him. Snores which are so cute you feel like your heart is being crushed in a vice.

There’s only one remaining option left, you realise.

To consult the group chat.

Hastily, you retrieve your phone from out of your coat pocket, keeping one arm very still so as to not disturb the still-technically-a-stranger, thankfully able to type sufficiently well with your other hand.

“!!!!!!!! Help me!!!!! Bus crush man is asleep on my shoulder. This is not a drill! What the fuck do I do?”

Your friend Amy is first to respond. Within a second. Slow night at work, mate?

Bestie: “😂😂😂😂Couldn’t keep him awake could you you boring sod?”

Then, the pings come thick and fast.

Foz: “Bus crush man!!! 😍”

Harps: “Is that the sleepy one? …Or was that bookshop crush man?”

Bestie: “He’s *asleep* on her, what do you think? 😂😂😂. Anyway keep up, bookshop man is old news. It’s all about the curly cutie these days 👀”

You sigh. Can they get to the bit where they’re helping soon, or what?

You: “Helpful guys, thanks a lot 🙄 My expiration is imminent - are you not getting this?”

As your shoulders rise and fall with your deep sigh, contemplating how this situation is 100% terrible, actually, Steven stirs a little with the motion of you dejectedness. Suddenly terrified that he’s woken up, with a perfect view of your phone screen, you twist your head in horror to check he’s still snoozing. The last thing you need is to have to explain who “bus crush man” is to “bus crush man” himself. However, as you twist your head, the shift in position dips your nose down towards his luxurious curls, and you practically let out a moan of pleasure as you exhale your inhale. Jesus his hair smells good. Like honey. Like cinnamon. Like freesia. He smells mother fucking edible. Like some divine nectar of the gods.

You: “Oh fuck me. Full on panic stations, you lot. He smells so. Fucking. Gooooood.”

Bestie: “Fucking Perv 😂😂😂”

Harps: “Get a new emoji, Ames. You’re such a bloody milennial.”

Foz: “Wait. Explain. Are you on the bus or did you pull him?!!!?! I thought you said he’d been blanking you for weeks, babes?”

Bestie: “Keep up, bitch. On Thursday he was making eyes.”

Well this endeavour is useless. They won’t stop prattling on and you, meanwhile, inch ever closer to your doom.

You: “Cheers for the stellar advice, you absolute numbnuts (affectionate). I’ll figure it out myself, shall I?”

Bestie: “wait!”

Finally.

Bestie: “I know what you should do.”

You’re waiting.

Bestie: “send us a selfie so we can get a proper look at him 😂😂😂”

You huff out air in exasperation.

You: “Ames, I swear to god.”

Well. That was a dead end.

You love them but…

You’re the last single one of your group, and though that means they love to live vicariously through your dating adventures… it also sometimes means they are blooming useless when it counts.

You swear you can even feel your blood pressure spiking; but Steven, meanwhile, is apparently in a state of bliss. His breathing is slow and snuffly and soporific. His face is nuzzling into the crook of your neck, meaning that his soft, dense curls brush in an utterly heavenly way across the bare skin above your collar.

When that happens, sending a pleasant little shiver snaking down your spine, you perhaps look down at him a little more fondly than you should. As though he belongs there, next to you. Perhaps breathing in a little too deeply, eager to get a waft of his delicious scent again. You know you’re perhaps taking it too far, because the woman on the folding seat is giving you that very judgemental look all over again.

That’s when your next, rather horrifying thought strikes you.

Oh god! What if she wakes him up and tells him you were smelling his hair?! You think you would quite simply pass away if that was to happen.

Still, even though you didn’t know what to do at first, you are so glad you didn’t move away. You like feeling the weight of him up against you. Like his reassuring scent of cinnamon and old books. And his curls are so soft and still tickling the bare skin above your collar and… is he? Talking in his sleep? He is. Something precious and mumbly about a “beautiful dream.”

You smile softly to yourself, your heart growing three sizes.

A beautiful dream.

He deserves that, you think.

Sure, you don’t know him. Not really. But you’ve never seen him be anything but gentle. Never heard him say anything unkind. He’s never pushed his way through the crowded aisle or elbowed himself a touch more wiggle room on the busy commute. He’s never jumped the queue. He always gives up seat if somebody else needs it. He always remembers to call his mum. He never dog-ears the pages of his books. Always uses a bookmark. How could anyone like that not deserve beautiful dreams.

You know all too well what it’s like to have bad ones, and if his are good right now, you wouldn’t dare to rob him of a precious thing like that.

Now, you know you exactly what to do. You shouldn’t move him. You should let him have this sweet dream for as long as is possi-

-the bus jerks.

Fucking typical.

Steven’s eyes snap open and he looks around quickly. As if he’s trying to remember where he is after emerging from a deep state of contentment and into a sticky public bus. After skirting it around the interior of the bus, he turns his gaze to you, his eyes in soft focus still, his blinks languid. His gaze travels all over your face and he gasps in a small breath, his face lifting with the subtlest and purest of smiles.

For a moment, he looks at you as though through a veil of stars. As if you are his beautiful dream. As if he believes that he’s still dreaming when he looks at you, all wrapped up in the comforting blanket of it. Safe and warm.

That is, until a half-filled can of coke is chucked down the stairs of the bus, rolling and spluttering everywhere.

You seethe in a breath as Steven is snatched well and truly back to the waking world, harshly stolen from slumber, but slowly piecing it altogether.

“I’m so sorry. Did I?” He points cautiously at your shoulder, before wiping a trail of drool from his chin.

“You fell asleep on me.”

“I drooled on you a little bit there as well, look.”

You do look down, at a wet patch on your jacket. So he did. “Oh,” you wave a palm dismissively. “Don’t worry.” You’ve fantasied about kissing him enough that you don’t even find stranger-shoulder-drool repulsive. God, you really need a date.

He flounders for his next words for a moment, so your motor-mouth reliably pipes up to fill the gaps. “Was my conversation boring you or something?” you scoff lightly.

Steven looks mildly panicked. Apologetic. “Sorry. Were we talking?”

“No. Sorry.” You cringe. You weren’t, really. “It was a joke.” Yeah. Nice one. The best jokes are the ones you have to explain after the fact aren’t they. You’re such a fucking hoot.

Steven laughs kindly then. Blinks his dark-circled eyes at you, as if he’s still not quite sure if he’s awake.

“Heavy weekend?”

He puffs out air. Pumps his eyebrows. “Spent most of it blacked out.”

You raise your eyebrows in turn, and your lips form an “o”. You hadn’t pegged him for a warehouse rave type, or whatever other type of partying might cause him to black-out. Does he get rat-arsed on the regular?

Anyway, upon seeing your surprise at his words, it occurs to Steven that maybe that wasn’t a great thing to have said without any further context.

“I mean. Not really,” he says nervously. “That was a joke too.” You smile but you don’t laugh, contemplating the fact that you’re so desperate enamoured with him that you’d probably even go to a warehouse rave (your own personal hell) if it meant being closer to him. “I’m just tired. From the gym,” he adds.

You do laugh then, which makes the poor man look a little affronted. It’s not that he doesn’t have a “gym body” or anything like that - all sorts of bodies can be gym bodies. It’s just that he doesn’t exactly strike you as a muscle head. Besides, he seems to have his nose buried in a book so often that you simply don’t think he’d have time for repetitions of squat thrusts.

Heat finds your face when you consider him performing that motion however, and you opt to swiftly move on from any talk of the gym whatsoever - in case that leaves you deceased too.

“Well. Look at us,” you smile. “Two comedians, eh?”

A smile flickers at corners of his mouth. “Sit-down comedians…” Oh. You get it. Because you’re not doing stand-up. Your musical laugh lilts over him. “Maybe we can get that nice person over there to be out compère.” He gestures towards the cantankerous lady. “Hiya!” He waves down at her, an endearingly restrained little wave, accompanied with a cautiously bright smile.

“Cheeky sod,” she scolds, and his face drops immediately.

You take the moment to look out of the window, at the streets slipping by in a blur. You desperately try not to notice the single curl sticking up and out of place on Steven’s head as he turns to follow your gaze, because if you do you will be pummelled by his cuteness all over again, and it’s given you enough of a beating already today. “Sorry. I was just worried you’ll miss your stop. You get off by the Tesco express - is that the one?” He looks at you quizzically, and so you hastily explain. “I’ve seen you on here a few times. You’re a couple of stops before me so…”

“Oh!” He says, studying your face as though trying to place you. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t recognise you. From the bus.” He looks at you and blinks in confusion, like he really has never noticed you before. Maybe you were imagining it on Thursday. “Yeah. That’s me. Next to the Tesco Express.”

“We said hello the other day actually. When you had the fish?”

Ouch. Well. That one hurts. Not even a flicker of recognition in his eyes when you say that. That’s a blow to the ol’ self-esteem.

God. Maybe he’d been smiling at someone behind you and you jumped on it - like a total tool.

Regardless, though, of whether he knows you, you’ll still make sure he doesn’t miss his stop today. Just like usual.

Steven shakes his head softly in confusion. Lifting a head to scratch his crown of curls. “Sorry. It’s just… If I’d seen you, I definitely would’ve remembered you,” Steven says softly, that veil of stars over his gaze again as he studies you. Bashfully, you exhale a breath, and you wring your hands in front of you with nerves. Well, that’s a nice sentiment for sure. But, clearly it’s not the truth, is it? He did forget you. Steven looks at the floor as if in apology. “I mean. You seem completely lovely.” God, this is worse, you think. Can’t he just gloss over the fact he has zero clue who you are and move on? Still, in the next moment, he looks achingly sad, ever so suddenly. His eyes wet. “Only thing I can think is… Must have thought you were a dream.” His fave grows pinched. “A beautiful dream. Can’t always tell the difference, some of ‘em. Seem so real sometimes, don’t they?”

You nod, blinking profusely. Trying to understand what to make of all of this.

And wow. Shit. Why is there a lump in your throat, exactly? You swallow it down. It feels all scratchy. Your chest feels full of emotion.

You hate seeing him in pain. You only want to make it better.

You don’t understand everything he’s talking about - not precisely. But you do know something about that feeling. About not understanding what’s real. Not knowing the difference. You’ve been plagued by night terrors since you were a child. You always believe you’re awake when the monsters visit, however hard you try to understand they’re not really there.

You follow Steven’s gaze down to his lap, where he now nestles the battered box of chocolates.

There’s that lump in your throat again.

You know he was likely stood-up, but you don’t entirely feel like admitting you eavesdropped on his conversation, and so, you offer a prompt. He can be the one to decide how much he’d like to share with you.

“Secret admirer?”

He laughs pitifully. “Yeah. No. I don’t think so,.. more like blatant enemies at the minute, actually.” You nod your head in sympathy. Again, you’re not entirely following what he’s meaning, but the feeling of him being cut-up about it translates perfectly. “I got stood up a little bit. On a date.”

You hum in understanding, conveying your sympathies. You hold yourself back from gushing that you can’t possibly imagine - can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t jump at the chance to be with him. “Well. You know what they say. Rejection is redirection.”

He perks up a little. Offers you a soft smile. “Rejection is redirection. Yeah. I like that.”

He looks into your eyes again. Really looks at you, and then he nods his head as if he’s made his mind up about something, with utter certainty.

“Do you like chocolates? I don’t wanna waste ‘em.” Upon seeing light shock pass over your face he backpedals, just a touch. “And anyway, I’m vegan so I can’t even eat these. Properly hate food waste, so…”

“Thank you, but my mum always told me not to takes sweets from strangers.”

“Oh of course. Sorry. I didn’t mean to be creepy or anything. Thought it might be nice. I hate food waste so…”

“I meant…” You bump your elbow against his. “I can’t take sweets from strangers. So… maybe you’d better introduce yourself?”

His face cracks into a smile now that he understand you. That’s better. So much better, seeing him happy. “I’m Steven. Steven Grant. I work in a gift shop.”

“Nice.” You can’t stop grinning. Can you ride around on this bus forever, please? You offer your name next. Steven repeats it under his breath a few times, as if desperately trying to embed it in his core memory. And, since he provided his profession too, “I work in a library.”

“A library! That’s amazing!” His genuine, unfiltered enthusiasm makes you laugh with surprise. There’s such a purity about him. Not necessarily an innocence; but a forthright integrity that seems all to rate these days. You get the sense that although he’s soft-spoken and unassuming, he shouldn’t be underestimated. That he know what he likes, what he wants, and what he stands for. You like that about him.

“The gift shop’s always the funnest bit. What’s the best ware that you stock?”

He turns more in his seat, angling his body towards you. Your knees bump together briefly. “Well. It’s mostly plastic stuff, yeah? Which ultimately isn’t great for the fishes is it? But we do have these little pyramid paper weights. They’re quite snazzy, I think.”

“Paper weights, hmm? Is that what the pyramids were built for?” you jest. “I’d always wondered about that.”

“Actually they were used for…” Steven begins to correct, out of sheer passion and breadth of knowledge of the topic more than anything, until he clocks the wide, playful grin on your face, your hand falling on to his forearm as you shake with mirth. “It was a joke,” he realises in time, huffing out a soft laugh.

“It was a joke, Steven,” you confirm good-naturedly.

A pleasant silence falls over the two of you, and you can feel the dull warmth of his arm burning through his layers. However, just then, his stomach rumbles rather loudly. “Sorry. Still a bit hungry, and I really didn’t want to eat these chocolates if I can help it. Already had a steak today - so I haven’t been too kind to the cows.”

“Oh here…” you rifle briefly in your handbag, for your leftover half-pack of Doritos. You unfurl the packet and offer the mouth to him. “Would you like a mini pyramid? I think these are vegan.” His soft yet chaotic laugh, and the way his eyes crinkle at your lame joke, has to be the most beautiful thing in the world, you think. “Or… what did your caregivers tell you about taking snacks from strangers?”

“Well,” he says softly, looking up at you from beneath his lashes in a way that makes you feel like you’re spinning. “We’re not strangers anymore, are we?”

“No,” you breathe, voice far too husky as Steven blinks bashfully at you. “I guess we’re not.”

There is a gentle heat eddying in between you, you think, but then, despite every effort to stifle it, you’re sure, Steven fractures it with a sudden yawn.

“Am I keeping you up?” you joke, certainly not blaming the poor man.

“Sorry. It’s not you. Definitely not you. I’m just so knackered.”

Yes. You’d picked up on that as a theme from his life.

“Do you want to get some more shut eye? You can lean on me again if you like,” you offer. “I really wouldn’t mind if you did.” Really. No lie.

Steven looks mistily down towards your shoulder, as if that sounds rather appealing. “That sounds lovely. But… I don’t want to go to sleep.” You furrow your brows in light confusion. That sounds a little counterintuitive. “Don’t want to forget you,” he admits. “Don’t want to confuse you for a dream.”

You smile at him. A little too fondly. God, you’re plummeting for this man. Fast. “You’ll know I’m real, dafty.”

“How?” His eyes go big and round and soft, searching yours in earnest as though you hold all the secrets he’s been searching for answers to.

“‘Cause you’ll see me when you wake up, won’t you?”

It’s that simple. Really. But it causes Steven to deliver a happy but bewildered smile. “That would be nice.” He flusters. “Really nice, that.” He glances down at your lips, his gaze a little heavy. With desire this time? Maybe?

Wait.

Hang on a minute.

Does he like you?

You really hope he likes you. You try to turn the flirtation up a notch to test the waters. Try to push things a little in that direction, if he’s willing. Turns out, you barely even have to try to inject flirtation into your voice at this point. Your desire has sunk into your middle and your voice has sunk with it, becoming a deeper, husky thing. “Or… if you really do want to stay awake. I… I think I can find some way to keep you up?” You quirk an eyebrow at him. Wait with bated breath for his reaction.

He gulps. You see it trail down his throat. You see a deeper colour flush his brown skin, heat crawling up his neck, even as he nods with vehement agreement at the prospect. “Yeah? You reckon?”

“Mmm.” You smile saucily, hoping he likes this new direction. You think that he does. He looks like he’s going to blow a gasket… or something.

“That would be…” His gaze drops to your lips again. “Really nice.” He makes a strangled sound in his throat. You see his hand shift, as though he almost moves to place it on your thigh and then thinks better of it - much to your dismay. “Do you like puzzles?” he blurts then, in a higher-pitched, rather choked-out voice.

Gosh. He’s cute when he’s nervous too. Maybe you’ll make him nervous later -in a good way. If he wants you to.

“What? Like Wordle?” His curveball takes you by surprise. Unless a puzzle is some new sex fad you know nothing about because it’s been so long since you last did it with anyone. Entirely plausible.

“What’s wordle?”

“Oh my god. Steven. Are you living under a rock?”

He pulls on his collar. Pops the top button open. “You probably don’t want to see where I’m living.” Another gulp. “There’s a lot of sand. I’ve got some sand issues at the minute, so it’s not the best time for visitors.”

You lick your lips, an unintentional drag of your tongue along your lower lip, and the gesture seems to drive Steven wild. He makes another strangled little noise. Something like a creak. Like he’s straining under the weight of his own desire, his chin jutting a little closer, closing a little of the gap between you.

“Shit,” you realise when it’s too late. When you’ve already whizzed by the Tesco. “Steven, we missed your stop.”

You failed him.

He follows your gaze out of the window. “Bollocks. And it’s pissing it down now as well. Next stop isn’t for ages.”

You bite your lip, hastily forming a plan. “Do you… Um. Would you… want to come back to mine until the rain stops? I can show you what wordle is. Make you some coffee?” You gesture down to his lap. “Help you finish those chocolates?” How many reasons can you give to tempt him? “And… Um. I don’t have any sand problems at my place. Not one.” You smack your lips together.

“I dunno. Do you…” he takes a huge breath. You wait on tenterhooks for his question. “Do you have any oat milk?”

Is that his dealbreaker?

He seems uncertain. Nervous. And so, you have a flash of concern. You don’t want to pressure him. Not at all. Not in the slightest. “You don’t have to. Obviously. I just thought it might be nice.”

Steven bravely reaches his arm out then. His fingertips brushing along the sleeve of your forearm, so gingerly that it makes your eyes flood with unexpected tears. “I think that would be perfect, actually.” He looks quite sure now that he would like that.

Meanwhile, you are transfixed with him, with his hand sweeping along you. It causes a hot flush of your skin. A prickle of sweat under your coat.

“It’s late though,” he asks softly. “Won’t I be keeping you up?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m a bit of an insomniac. Steven blinks at you then, as though you’ve just said something of deep significance. You wave your hand in the air. “It’s a whole thing. Night terrors. Sleepwalking. I just need somebody to tie me down to the bed, I think.”

Oh god. It’s an offhand comment you’ve used 100 times before as shorthand for your sleeping challenges. A way to play it off lightly - not invite too many questions. But when Steven almost combusts -a vein popping beneath his eye and one in his forehead- you realise what you’ve just said, and with him, the words seem to hold a different meaning.

Did you really just say that?

Did you actually just say that?

You need someone to tie you down to the bed?

Steven laughs nervously, but his eyes are unblinking now. He seems fully awake. Fully invested. “Was that a joke as well?”

Alright. Fine. You’ll risk it.

You toss him a subtle wink. “Only if you want it to be.”

He makes an unintelligible, stuttered noise.

Ding.

Hurriedly, you reach out to press the bell. It wouldn’t do to miss your stop as well.

“Really, Steven.” You reassure firmly as the bus swings around the mini roundabout. “You don’t have to come back with me. Or, if you just want a cuppa while you wait for the rain to stop you can do that. Whatever you feel comfortable with. Alright?”

His face twists. “It sounds very lovely. I… I want to. I just… Sometimes I lose track of time. Don’t want to overstay my welcome.” He looks out at the pelting rain, as if to point out it looks like there’s no quick end in sight. That he might be at your place for hours.

“Well.” A hard swallow trails down your throat. “That’s okay by me. You can stay all night if you like.” A sudden heat burns in your cheeks when you hear your words out loud. You hadn’t meant it like that, not really. You’d just meant he can stay as long as he likes.

Even so…

You can’t say you would be opposed.

“Okay,” he nods, a cautious smile tipping his full lips. “Yeah. Grand. Thank you.”

“Okay?” You ask again, out of surprise that he’d be interested in spending longer in your company, more than anything. But then, you remember. That Steven seems like a man who knows what he wants.

He nods again. You feel positively giddy.

You continue to feel giddy as the bus drops you off, and you hastily put your umbrella up. Steven shuffles closer to you, upon being invited, to fit beneath it and shelter from the rain, and this action places your face pleasantly close to his.

He looks at you again. Like you’re a dream, and you hope that you’ve finally managed to make a lasting impression.

You let out an awkward laugh, as everything in you screams out. You’re close enough to kiss, if you wanted. If he wanted.

Steven is wordless, his lips curved softly upwards. His eyes soft as he engages in a gentle study of you. And wow. Given that you were talking about being tied to a bed only moments ago - a bolder topic - his sheer proximity is making you infeasibly shy.

“I’m just down this street here,” you gesture, and Steven nods softly.

“Okay.”

You smile back.

“Can I…” His voice is even smaller than usual. You have to lean closer again to hear him. “Can I hold your hand?”

Your face splits into a huge smile at the sweetness of him, a surge of happiness rushing in your chest. “Yes,” you answer quickly, voice all breath. And so, you turn to walk side by side, huddling close to stay beneath the canopy of the umbrella, and Steven slots his hand into yours.

His palm fits yours so well, his hand broad and pleasantly warm. You feel butterflies erupt in your stomach. You never want to let him go.

“That feels really nice.” Steven gushes, even sounding a little emotional about it. Maybe he’s been alone as long as you have, wishing for someone to hold.

“It does, doesn’t it?” you agree. You might even be a little emotional too.

“You’re so lovely,” Steven praises, then immediately thinks better of it. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Steven. You can compliment me if you like.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I think you’re lovely too.”

He tugs ever so gently on your hand, and draws you to a stop, the two of you coming face to face again, rain thundering down on the pavement all around you and bouncing up on to your shoes. “I think you’re really pretty,” he gushes earnestly. “Like a beautiful dream.”

“Can I kiss you, Steven?”

He nods. “Please.”

When your lips press to his cheek, for a sweet, chaste kiss, you certainly do feel like this is the stuff that dreams are made of.

The next day

You: Amy.

You: Amy?!!!

You: Are you awake?

Bestie: (….)

You see that she’s finally typing and you fire off your message at record speed.

You: Bus crush man spent the night 😱😱😱😱

Bestie: 🤯 I stg I just spat my coffee all over the cat. Babe!!! Tell me everything. How was it?

You: *melts into puddle*

Bestie: 😍 Deets. More.

You: We talked basically all night. Really talked. And then… this morning we… you know.

Bestie: I can *see* you wiggling your eyebrows right now. You mean you bonked? 👀

You: I can’t believe I’m about to say this but we basically made love, Ames. It was… it was just. Perfect.

Bestie: baby girl 🥺🥺🥺 I’m so happy for you! And your vagina! 🎉

You: 😂

You: Ames. I’m a bit scared though, tbh. I haven’t felt this amazing in a long time. Am I being a major idiot? I think… I think he felt the same way too.

Bestie: I’m sure he did, you’re a catch bbz. Have you spoken to him since?

You: He’s been at work all day. But he should be finished now. He gets on my bus at the next stop. Shit he’s there. My heart has left my body I’ve gtg - I’ll ttyl ok? Love you x x

Bestie: Love you. Come round for goss. Stat!

You watch Steven preparing to board the bus with your heart in your mouth. Before settling your phone in your pocket, you fire off one final message to her.

You: I think this might be it Ames. I really think this might be my person.

Bestie: 😍😍😍😍 He’d be a lucky man to have you, hun.

You are physically shaking with pleasant nerves as Steven boards, and you’re already smiling fondly. The process is a hell of a lot smoother than it was yesterday - no comedy routines. He’s standing taller too. Looking more confident. You hope that has something to do with you, and what you got up to last night.

He walks up the aisle, and settles himself in a spot next to you. “Hi,” you smile giddily, the breath all but punched out of your lungs. Your cheeks straining against the sheer force of your smile. He’s so handsome.

“I’m sorry,” he says robustly, a confused divot notching in his brow. “Have we met?”

You bat his arm playfully with the back of your hand. “Haha.” You deadpan. “Very funny Steven. You’re such a comedian.”

He looks at you blankly. “I’m sorry. You must have the wrong guy.”

You blink in confusion when his eyes fail to soften upon greeting you. When he fails to drop whatever bit he’s doing. You frown, shocked by how fast the tears ball into your lashes. “Steven? This isn’t funny.” Why do you suddenly feel sick?

You tug on his sleeve ,but Steven pulls his arm from out of your grasp, taking a step back. “Really. You seem swell, but I’m sorry. I’m not your guy.”

He’s not your guy.

You swallow, but the lump in your throat stays there. You look at him through a haze of tears, which you battle to quell. He isn’t is he? He’s not your guy. Maybe he was never destined to be, for this person in front of you now seems like a different man entirely. His whole manner different.

Where has the warmth gone, which he showed you last night? Where is that man?

The man of your dreams?

You look at him pleadingly, and still nothing.

Is this one of your night terrors? For this is the only plausible way the man before you now could possibly exist, isn’t it? A cruel monster capable of dismissing you so readily, after all the ways your opened your heart and your body up to him mere hours ago.

“Steven,” you whisper, in one last ditch attempt, but your plea is ineffectual. He reaches his arm out to you, but this time it is you who steps away, not wishing for his duplicitous hands to touch you again.

What a coward. What a bastard. Of all the cruel ways to fob you off, this is what he’s chosen? He had got what he wanted from you, hadn’t he? Taken it. Pretended to be who you needed just to get into your knickers, and now…

Well now, you don’t even recognise the man before you.

With tears now cascading down your face, you elbow your way towards the front of the bus, dinging the bell repeatedly and pleading at the driver to pull over as fast as possible. “Stop the bus. Stop the bus. Please. I need to get off. I need to get off!”

You feel humiliated. Used.

You spill out on to the pavement, and your feet carry you to the nearest wall, where you lean up against it. You’d sob your heart out, but he’s already stolen it. Already crushed it.

You hope you never have to look at him again.

You’d had one night together.

One which had seemed blissful and magical, at the time. At least for you. But, clearly, with Steven, that hadn’t been the case.

Clearly, you’d failed to make any sort of lasting impresion.

Wednesday

Steven wakes up in his bed to the sound of his alarm.

He awakes with a start, as always. Flashes of this and that come back to him, but one image stands out to him in stark relief.

A face. A lovely, pretty face.

He’d just had the most beautiful dream of his life.

A dream that has seemed so real, that he even looks for you as he proceeds with his day. Looks for you on his bus route home. Scours the faces of the passengers, searching for yours.

He doesn’t find you.

He doesn’t find you, so he can only conclude that you never were real at all, and of all the things Steven has come to doubt, this has to be the most painful thing of all.

“Just a beautiful, perfect dream,” he mouths sadly to himself as he alights the bus one or two stops too late. He’d fallen asleep again.

When he steps off, he looks around. He doesn’t think he’s been there before, but that street off to the left looks awfully familiar.

He looks down at his hand then. At his palm, as though it’s suddenly cold and empty; but then he shakes his head.

“A beautiful dream,” he mouths again, and he wanders home alone.

He’d give anything to see your face one more time.

Anything at all.

[cubicle-eyes]

How I think the characters on my write list (+a few) would react to you falling asleep on them! (HCs)

This post is a semi-filler. I'm taking a break from my Eddie fic to work on this because my motivation is going DOWN. Rest assured at least two new fics ( not including this one) are coming very soon!

--------

Steve Harrington

- He is stiff as a board.

- He does everything in his power to gently lay you down (if possible) without waking you up.

- He has so many photos of you when you're in deep sleep

- even one where he put yourfinger up your nose

- Dustin liked that one.

--------

Billy Hargrove

- He is also very still.

- He quite likes it, actually

- You're like a weighted blanket to him

- He's not to worried about waking you up

- but he's always sad when you do because he loves you lying on him.

- He has a photo of you asleep in your dinner. Deffo.

-------

Jason Carver

- shoves you to the floor.

- jkjk

- no, he does slide you away though

- it makes him uncomfortable when someone is sleeping on him, so dont be upset if you wake up to him sneaking away

--------

Eddie Munson

- He is also probably asleep

- you not awake = boring

- so, his solution is to sleep too.

- on the rare occasion he isn't sleeping, he often is holding your back/waist

- If he starts getting sore he pinches the end of your nose to wake you up, and always apologizes for doing so but never stops.

- He has a video recording of you sleepwalking and singing to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" while you sweep the couch. You woke up because of how hard he was laughing.

--------

Chrissy Cunningham

- She's always suprised, though it happens quite often

- Usually she sleeps on you, so it's nice

- Her shoulders are a little bony though, so usually you end up cuddled up in the crook of her neck <3

- she holds you very tightly, but not enough to wake you. Shes honestly worried you'll fall off of her!

- (she puts a variety of hats on your head, if she manages to get up without waking you)

- She has a poloraoid wall, and most of them are you and her together, or you sleeping with a bunch of hats stacked on your head

--------

Jim Hopper

- hahshshaha

- He's the best cuddler EVER

- hes so STRONG and holds you in PLACE!

- he has his arms around you and you'd die if you moved

- he loves affection okay he's just mean about it sometimes

- if he has a coat/flannel/OUTERWEAR he takes it off and lays it on you instead of a blanket

- it's nice because it's warm and smells like him, which is sweet

- Will murder if someone wakes you up. There is no joke here. Eleven was grounded for three days.

--------

Joyce Byers

- MAMA

- MAMA ILY HOLD ME TOO PLS 🥺🥺🥺

- Mama bear! MAMA BEAR!

- She is the best cuddler on this LIST!!

- She has three kids, she has EXPERIENCE in CUDDLES!

- Massages your scalp while your sleeping and if she pulls away you wake up, which leads to hilarious interactions between her and Will when she needs something.

- " Stop laughing Will. Just hand me the remote."

- "It's literally beside you!"

- "Shhh! Hand the remote to your poor old mom!"

-------

Dustin Henderson

- hahassddjshs

- when you fall asleep on him he cries.

- not really but he's killed by the pure trust and kind of wants too

- gives you kithes 🥺

- mostly on the top of your head, but the forehead and your cheeks (depending on the way your head is laying) are hotspots too

- its way to quiet when you're asleep so he falls asleep too

- Which leads to the both of you waking up with a huge bright camera flash as his mom cooes at the both of you

- (bottom left drawer of his dresser, there's a collection of photogrpahs where he's put makeup on your face in your sleep. Also includes you sleeping in his hat, you sleeping cuddled up with him, and you literally sleeping face-down on his bed.)

--------

Mike Wheeler

- Sorry people but you never sleep on him.

- Have you seen him? He's a stick and bony and lanky and ADORABLE but not to sleep on

- to sleep with, however, when you're the first asleep...

- He just likes to rub your arms through your shirt (or not, if you arent wearing one, duh)

- Sleeping together like this is a really intimate thing to him, so he finds it very special to watch you sleep

- his hands are naturally freezing, so he finds clever ways to sneakily twine your fingers together to warm them up

- His most creative way to do so is to put his hands behind your neck.

- you always wake up, laughing and gasping for him to move them, but he keeps them there till they're warm, and then you're both asleep again with your foreheads touching <3

--------

Nancy Wheeler

- notice me senp-

- Now in my honest opinion..

- She has never had someone fall asleep on her until you

- Always unprepared and silently freaking out as she sits stiff as a board, hands in her lap twitching slightly as she stares at the wall or TV

- usually when you move around she takes the oppurtunity as well, making sure you're both comfy before settling

- Awkward! With! Her! HANDS!!

- Always everywhere! They're constantly moving

- Her feet do it too as she's also a restless sleeper and very fidgety

- always feels bad if it wakes you up

- sometimes its nice, one hand petting your head and the other rubbing your back..

- but sometimes her feet kick your ankles and sometimes it hurts, okay.

- also she sleeps with socks on. Didn't know how to fit this in. But she does.

- ( in preperation for you falling asleep on her on the couch, she has a basket of blankets next to the cushions, and theres water bottles and a secret stash of chips hidden under them >:} )

--------

Will Byers

- usually doesn't know you're asleep until you stop answering his questions

- and then which he adjusts to hold you and continues talki g to himself.

- sometimes you'll mutter sleepy 'mmm's when he's said something interesting enough, but he shushes you because you're supposed to be asleep

- very good cuddler, but can never fall asleep

- when he gets tired he passes out, yes, but to get tired he'd have to run around the world four times

- well, he'd have to be mentally tired to fall asleep. No matter how sleepy his body is, he can't fall asleep without talking about anything aad everything until the words turn into whispers and then quiet nonsense.

- he has a photobook, and theres a picture of you sleeping so weirdly that it always gets a laugh (peter griffin fall 💀)

--------

Jonathan Byers

- probably high

- so he just keeps on doing what he's doing.

- he probably asks you stupid questions, regardles  of if you answer or not.

- "would you still love me if i was a worm?"

- "..cutests fuckin... mm.. worm.. "

- "*sobbing*"

- "woah holy shit, jon, you okay-"

- "Im a CuTe WoRm! *more sobbing*"

- honestly I love him so much idk how to write abt him zhshahah

- if he's asleep too he's probably resting his head on yours, arms lazily wrapped around tour neck as you bury your face in his neck and chest, holding his torso.

--------

Eleven Byers-Hopper

- freaking out verbally

- "Do not laugh at me, Will. They are not dead, right?"

- probably shaking bc sjes so scared that if she accidentally wakes you up you'll be upset with her

- eventually she relaxes, and moves your head (which has undoubtedly fallen to her shoulder) to her lap

- very gentle and sweet

- once she gets even more comfortable, she probably pets your head and baby-talks to you in a one-sided, lovey-dovey conversation.

- "Whos the most adowable S/O? Y/N is. Yeah he is. The best sleeper in the west."

--------

Max Mayfeild

- literally just wakes you up.

- if you DONT wake up she tries to literally "push your buttons"

- squeeze ur cheeks, poke ur nose, poke ur forehead

- She doesn't want to be trapped all day!

- (she really does though. If you don't get up soon she cuddles right up to fall asleep. Pretend to be asleep long enough and you get to hear Max snore. Loudly.)

--------

Robin Buckley (f.reader)

- " :0 omg ive been chosen"

- treats you like a cat, puts you where you need to be so youre both comfy

- couch sleeping >>>>

- lies with her back against the couch and your back pressed against her chest, holding you in place so you don't fall and kissing the back of your neck gently and ajdvrkdvej

- Robin's head > Pillow

--------

Argyle

- bro argyle >>> hottest person alive

- who am I kididng theyre the same person

- anyways (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

- this man doesnt let you sleep whatre you even talking about???? U joking??? hes high you're comin' down with him.

- "...What color is a mirror..?" "Why is pizza round... cut into triangles... and served in a square box?" "Why is it nail polish and not nail paint?" etc etc

- he always falls asleep very quickly. But he also cries really easily when high off his balls. Over everything. He cried yesterday about the color of his shirt. It wasn't yellow enough. He told me himself

- hes the best pillow. Lay on his chest, kiss his face, let him hold ya

- hes very soft and gentle with you at all times, and since most of the time the both of you are high as skyscrapers, it's a bit more wacky but a lot more sentimental.

- lots of "was drunk and fell asleep like this 😤" pictures in the back of the van

- the funniest being the one of argyle standing on the roof of the van with you and attempting to push you onto the hood "long live the king"style, but you were held on tight

- usually jonathan doesn't quite get as high so he taks a lot of pictures

- got off track but oh well lol

--------

Fred Benson

- He probably has prepared for this moment and lured you into a trap :)

- he had music on softly in the background and blankets and everything all planned out

- once he just gains enough actual courage to ask for cuddles it'll be less odd when he asks you to watch the most boring show on the planet with him

- he kithes your head a lot bc he really loves you, but doesn't voice it a whole lot

--------

Peter Ballars

- he moves you, despite how much he wants to stay and make sure you sleep well

- he doesn't move you very far. Usually you fall asleep in the rainbow room, so he just puts you in your own room to rest

- he always sneaks and checks on you, though, because you're still as graceful as a dying baby bird and vunreable all alone

- 4/10 not a good rainbow room cuddle buddy

- (alone, however, he's very sweet, apologizing for dumping you in your room all alone. Kisses all around, gives you a shoulder rub, you know, usual guilty boyfriend tendancies. Will always cuddle before he has to go back to his own room. He may be a lil' evil but you're his sweetheart <3 )

EXTRA/BONUS: OBSCUREISH CHARACTERS

Dr. Brenner/Papa (child reader, around 5-6)

-  he isn't quite sure how you ended up so close to him in the rainbow room as he sat and observed the other children, but when he felt the pressure on his upper arm from you, he couldn't help but grinned

- he woke you up gently, offering you a quick nap in your assigned room, and you accepted by yawning and rubbing your eyes, nodding.

- he walked you to your room with an orderly, and tucked you into bed.

- totally down to tell you a story tbh. Just ask.

- the orderly is assigned to wake you up in exactly two hours, so you better get to sleep quick.

- but no matter. Papa is sure to lend you an extra hour if you need it.

--------

Ted Wheeler 👹 (Holly's fraternal twin)

- he's asleep. He fell asleep first. You were just to scared to change the TV channel and fell asleep too on top of him with your sister.

- (he wakes up first too, and puts you both in bed, making sure you're covered and comfy before heading back to his chair. If you wake up in that time, he'lm tell you both some sort of a story, though it's a "tired dad" version. Usually you're the cool dragon, while Holly's the princess in fantasy stories.

-------

Karen Wheeler 👹 (also Holly's twin)

- she was suprised, of course, when you appeared across from her on the couch and shoved your way into her lap, cuddling close and instantly falling asleep.

- she lets you sit there for awhile, patting your back, before she brings you to her room to let you nap up there. When Holly gets tired she'll join you, but for now you get the big bed!)

Barb Holland

- havfuubeakdvehx

- Hi barb *waves fingers like an idiot*

- she loves cuddles. There's never a time you ever "accidentally" fall asleep on her. Oh no. Youre her hostage now.

- Smooches. Smoochy poochy bwa bwbajettiwvd

- Push her glasses up her nose while you're barely awake, and then proceed to pass out. She will cry of cuteness. No jokes.

--------

hope you enjoyed! Also I need to add Barb to my write list 👹

[secretbangtnn]

Best Of Me| Two

Pairings : →ot7 x reader, poly!BTS x reader

Genre : → vampireau, yandere!au, age gap, gore, obsessive behavior, ddlg/caregiver, poly, fantasy, supernaturals

summary : It’s quite unusual to find a little baby on your doorstep, especially that their area was not of the poorest - you could say that a vampire town was efficient with money and snobby creatures. However over time the first idea of just giving back the little girl seems more and more radical and those moody vampires slowly start perceiving deeper feelings to human they even wanted to kill.

previous | next

notes ~ I did it!!! Omg im so happy I finished it, hopefully the next one are going to come sooner. The first chapters are going to be with a baby oc - im sorry if its boring, but after it we can start with the real plot, the things are gonna get dark. Hope that you will like it, and remeber to give me some feedback - im whore for a comments and ask and beside they motivate me very much

taglist :

@missseoulite @gukkculture @silscintilla @the-falling-star @apollonshootafar @mwitsmejk @lovinggalaxies @b-e-t-x-s-o @jisoosbitch @ariverflowsonthemoon @maboiisuga @peachescream1723 @sichajeon

Cries everywhere. Sobbing so loud that all the birds disappeared from their little birdhouse outside the window. And as funny the view was, a big ball of stress and nerves started collecting itself in the rather calm manor. Reason of all this mess was just one, so easy to notice.

“Jungkook!” Just like a ball of nerves now the big ball of dirty blankets and clothes hit the young vampire, making him stumble a little. Obvious disgust on his face with a piece of distaste on his tongue which just a second ago had been caused by the same thing he now fisted in his hands.

“You didn’t have to throw it at me!” Barked Jungkook staring at the broad shoulders of his oldest brother. Child now a little calmer, however still sobbing slightly, keeping the atmosphere at bay.

“You have brung the kid so you will hold the things he made. Be happy that I'm not forcing you to change the diaper instead.”

Disgust on all of their faces is now being something normal, having kids in the same room as them, definitely does not go well with hundred years old vampires. The only one without a gag reflex seems to be Seokjin, acting like a pro mother, just after her 3rd pregnancy with the next on the road. However all of them agreed with the statement that it was all but Jungkook's fault, which came with consequences for said boy.

Thus now sitting on the couch, five of the ramaing vampires, looked with a bored expression at the panicked and nearly vomiting jungkook. Youngest of them always had a soft stomach, never being the one to clean after disasters, forcing people to basically clean after him, and maybe that's why all of them felt such a satisfaction upon them while staring at the shitty situation.

Literally shitty.

Stumbling a little from the intense smell, Jungkook started to try getting rid of the used diaper in his hands, holding it with his fingers dingling it as far from his face as he could. Maybe the smelly object was not the only thing that should be named like a feces, knowing that a person who should just throw the diaper away, purposefully walked closer than intended to a couch with older vampires, stumbling not that accidentally and making the thing in his hand fly straight to a lap of a reading Namjoon.

A moment of silence, only lasting for a short second. Namjoon was never the one to shout or get mad, rather prefering to act calm and well put together, believing in a peace making and solutions not requiring usage of violence but when the heavy baggage on his lap suddenly started to warm his lap, he completely crushed his persona as well as book in his hands.

“Ups...hehe.” Jungkook laughed awkwardly, knowing well his fate. Doe eyes looked at the tall man, standing a little farther than him, just behind the couch. Jaw tightened so were the hands, keeping the last strings of calmness that were floating on very dangerous water.

“Listen, before you actually do something think of the time when you destroyed my ps4 and

I did not even complain.” Hands just before him similar to the way you would to with a wild animal, and in Jungkook's opinion, it was not that far from the truth, observing how Namjoons jaws nearly crushed from the tension.

“Okay okay, we all need to calm down, It was just an accident.” Cut in red head, standing in the middle of the war zone. It was stupid idea, definetly not the brightes of the sunny vampire, even if it came from the good intentions. Hoseok, just like an innocent child that got stuck in a big people argument, was the one that got hurt in the end.

And everybody knew that when Hoseok gets mad it's the extremity that anyone in this room is scared to experience once again. There is silent agreement between the rest of the brothers that was made after one of Hoseok's outburst, promising that no matter what the devil can’t come out.

The apple of discord laying now upon redhead’s feet, innocent like a little kitten that just waits to be petted, but in this case it wasn neither a fluffy ball of fur and definitely not something that should be touched.

Silence so loud, banging in their ears with an uneven breath. Second after second, rest that were not included in the middle, counted sitting on their heels with nerve wracking feelings.They stared as Hoseok’s shoulders rose and went down with each puff of air from his flared nostrils, neither of them dared to move, preferring to stay in a safe zone.

Just as red headed one wanted to take his first kill, a loud laugh echoed in a room, coming from a little child in Seokjin's arms, that probably just came back from being cleaned up. A fresh smile on its face, eyes sparkly looking straight at the scene.

“What are you doing, idiots?” Asked Seokjin, a visible vein on his forehead, sticking out under his free hand that now pinched a bridge of his nose. His eyes catching a glimpse of the used diaper, right on his favorite carpet. “You had one thing to do, one thing Jungkook.”

“It was an accident I swear on my ps4!” He tried explaining, shaking his arms. Seokjin saw to much lived too long to believe it, everybody knew it but even than they acted like bunch of idiots when something like this happen.

“Namjoon destroyed it, you said it yourself.” Spoke Jimin, sitting on a couch with a happy smile, pleased with himself. Younger's head immediately halted in his way, a look of betrayal on his face.

“You midge…”

“I don’t care, just clean it up, in the meantime me with the little snack are going to cook something, right my little cutie?” Cuted the older while caressing the child in his arms, turning his voice in a baby one. And just like this the scene came to the same point, the only difference was that neither Namjoon or Hoseok were in the room, probably running away as fast as Sekojins came.

Jungkook sighed, squatting down to take care of the said thing. Again the disgust and a feeling of nausea hitted him with a side giggles of his blonde haired brother.

Going into the kitchen he spotted the child that looked at him as soon as he appeared. Little smile and sweet laugh, making him soft and mushy for a while.

“I hope you know that you gave us a big problem with bringing a human child there.” Seokjin spoke, not looking from a cutting board, himself to immersed in said action

Jungkook knew, earlier thinking of it like a mere action, something that they can get rid of as fast as a lollipop wrapper. But it was not, and now looking at the kid, he realized how his careless behaviour could weigh down not only on his family but the whole society of vampires.

“I’m-”

“Don’t just apologize, we need to take care of it as fast as we can, in the meantime doing everything to not harm it. If someone finds out it’s going to be a bigger problem, probably even straining the relationship with human - and that’s something we do not want.” Cuted older, in the end turning around pointing the sharp knife on Jungkook.

It was true, the delicate stattlement between those two societies is still new, fresh and hot, ready to burn anyone's fingers, anyones who is to carless. The today is a better world, something that all of the brothers know, remembering dark times - some of them being not older than mere hatchling then. World was a dangerous place to live in, vampires hunting humans, humans hunting vampires, a competition that never got settled, and they hope it never will.

“Try feeding it and come to the living room after you are done. We will discuss the next actions - good luck.” A little wink at the end, Seokjin wiped his hands off on the way patting the younger's back, harder than normally.

“Wait what?! You are not being serious right now, right?” Asked confused Jungkook, fastly turning around to an already disappearing figure. Cold sweat on his body as he looked at the smooth face of the older, that defended a flying kiss to his shocked self. “Why can’t you do it?”

“I can. But the human seems to take a liking to you.” And how absurd it sounded, the baby really looked at Jungkook like some god, sparkly eyes always following his bigger figure.

“Seokjin! Don’t leave me please, I can’t do it.”He whined, looking for the said man, to his luck he was nowhere to be found. It was going to be alright - he tried to believe in those words now clutching baby spoon, that he was sure they did not have, and a mashed food, looking more like dog food than actual meal.

His Eyes staring right into the sparkly and to obnoxious happy, making him even more irritated. In the end, Jungkook hated little children, being and acting like one himself

Little hands stretching towards him with a toothless smile on the side, getting bigger as Jungkook came closer. That was it, taking a big breath he come to the other side of the table - almost touching the stool where the human sat. Ready and determined to get the task done, treating it similar to a quest in the game, he took the little spoon with some of the smashed food, and started to get closer to the child's mouth.

And as the brothers again started to live their normal life, thinking that at least for now, everything is settled, a very obvious squeal shook the while house.

“HYUNG!...IT WANTS TO TOUCH ME! GET IT AWAY, GET IT AWAY!”

___

All of them now sitting on the couches and armchairs, taking nearly all of the space. Some of the observing the crawling baby with prominent couriousty some of them with disgust even fear, not knowing what future the baby will bring.

Namjoon although feeling the little distaste, knew or better had a plan with what to do.

Smile on his lips not reaching his eyes, however stumbling on the way of eye contact with some of his brothers.

“Okay so, definitely we need to do something with...this.” Said Jimin, look on his face full of distress and disgust resting on the child, that as if it knew of Jimin’s attention looked back full of giggles and reaching hands.

“That is obvious, we can’t keep human child.” Barked Yoongi, the one which rather prefered to stay quiet in those metters.

“Jungkook should take care of it, It’s not my fault he is to stupid to not question a left human on a doorstep.” Smug smile now on Jimin's face, as he gave the side glance to the said male, happy with triggering the younger temper.

“As If you woul…”

“Okay we get it Jimin, it was Jungkook's fault, but still it can affect us all, so try to be at least a little bit helpful or shut up” Interrupted Seokjin staring at both of them in turn. The oldest obviously tired of all of the drama, massaging his scalp, to relieve the tension a little. “Let's start one by one, any ideas?”

Silence, a loud silence throwing the tension to the already burning fire. Seokjin's vein once again appeared on his forehead, making Jungkook nearly knock from a terrifying sight of it. It was pulsating, green and bumpy.

“Maybe let’s put it back?” Asked the quiet voice, Sekojin ready to snap at the stupid idea thinking that some of the youngers don’t know limit of the unfunny jokes, only to find innocent eyes of Hoseok.

“That’s … well that is AN option, thank you Hoseok - keep it up. Any other ideas?” Seokjin’s hands molded into a thump, giving the tired smile to Hoseok, knowing of his still busing nerves.

“Why are we even trying so hard, throw it away i say.” Jimin mumbled while staring at the little child going his way, quickly putting his feet on the couch, scared of a chance of being touched by the human.

Tired sight left mouth of the olders, his vein fading a little - to Jungkook luck, and his hands now clenching his blonde lock. He was helpless, disappointed in his brother's ideas and intelligence. He was sure that, that was indeed an end, his family will be arrested for keeping human, and vampires are going to lose a peace they fighted for.

Everything because Jungkook wanted to take unfamiliar child to their house.

“What about the orphanage that opened like one month ago, can’t we just leave it there?” Cuted Namjoon, making everyone snap their head. Seokjin nearly crying, wanting to kiss his brother as much as choke him for his slow process of thinking.

“Couldn’t you say earlier?!

[realcube]

msby boys finding out their s/o is pregnant

navi | masterlist | taglist  

thank you to anon for this wholesome request 

content warning ♡ pregnant! reader, sexual references, swearing & fluff

characters ♡ sakusa, atsumu, bokuto & hinata

kiyoomi sakusa 

♡ he faltered

♡ there was half a minute of silence between the two of you; him just staring at your stomach while you gazed into his eyes

♡ he was almost certain that he misheard you, so he felt inclined to inquire, ‘huh?’ as indifferently as he could, though he wasn’t doing a good job of concealing the shocked expression on his face 

♡ ‘i said i’m pregnant, sweetie.’ you giggled, admiring the emotions he displayed on his face as it wasn’t a sight you got to see often

♡ sakusa continued to stare at you, eyes wide 

♡ though he knew what you meant, apart of him insisted that he was mishearing you 

♡ his wide-eyes were fixated on you, his lips slightly agape as he tried to process what you just said and what this meant for the both of you 

♡ the only emotion you could read of his face was shock. at first, you were sure that he was happy but he was just taking a while to accept it, but now that a few minutes had passed and he was still yet to say anything or even smile, you were starting to second guess yourself

♡ despite the fact sakusa had already agreed that he was on board with the idea of having a child many times before - in fact, there were nights where he’d admit that he can’t wait to start a family with you - but you still worried that perhaps he has now that had a change of heart

♡ that was until you noticed his eyes become unusually glossy and red, along with his cheeks adapting a somewhat red tint, ‘if this is a joke, (y/n), it’s not funny.’ his ordinary, monotone voice was now slightly shaky and low 

♡ ‘it’s not a joke, ‘iyoomi.’ you laughed, feeling your own throat go dry and your cheek flare up upon seeing how emotional sakusa had become

♡ before the tears spilled from your eyes, you felt sakusa’s arms slowly snake around your waist, place an elongated kiss on your forehead then rest his chin on your shoulder 

♡ he held you close enough that you could feel his rapid heartbeat thud against your chest and his wobbly breath tickle the back of your neck

♡ he stayed like that, silent, for a good few minutes 

♡ when he finally pulled away to admire your stomach, you noticed how his damp cheeks glistened in the light and you couldn’t help but smile

♡ although he wasn’t very vocal about how happy he was, his actions spoke a thousand words

♡ he’d insist in home-cooking all your food now because he didn’t want to risk you getting food poisoning 

♡ when he’d come home from practise, absolutely exhausted, the first thing he’d do when he gets home is  wash his hands then cut you some fruit 

♡ when he has free-time, he used to just watch TV but now he’s picked up a few hobbies of reading childcare books, tending to your every need/want and researching good baby names

♡ also, he’s so gentle with you - like, he was gentle with you before but this is a new extreme

♡ excluding the time he almost tackled you to the ground when you suggested atsumu as a baby name

♡ like he baby-proofs the house like a month into your pregnancy lmao 

kōtarō bokuto

♡ the corners of his lips slowly curl into a bright smile, ‘pregnant?’

♡ you cocked your head to the side slightly, then hummed, ‘yeah. pregnant.’

♡ ‘like..with a kid?’

♡ you snorted, playfully rolling your eyes, ‘i’d hope so.’

♡ ‘like..with my kid?’

♡ ‘our kid - but yes.’

♡ a while passed and he had yet to do anything besides stare at you in pure adoration so you prompted him by opening your arms 

♡ to which he immediately responded by throwing himself onto you, ‘I’m gonna be a dad?! like seriously?!’

♡ luckily you were sitting on your bed so you fell back onto that but you were still being smothered by his chest 

♡ ‘bo!’ you squealed and squirmed under his weight and tight grip, glad that he was as cheery as you had hoped but not appreciating being suffocated 

♡ he suddenly pulled away but kept his large hands glued to your shoulders, revealing the tears that were already streaming down his cheeks and dampened your shirt, ‘really?!’

♡ ‘yes, bokuto. i am 100% pregnant.’ you declared for the final time before bokuto cupped your face with his hands and pulled you in to a passionate kiss, not stopping until your lips were basically swollen

♡ he’s just so hyped during the first few days of your pregnancy and he’s just super duper ready to become a dad!

♡ like he’s already practising his dad jokes 

♡ but then you remind him that he’s gonna have to wait around 9 months before he can actually see his baby and his hair literally deflates 

♡ ugh how rude of you 

♡ can you not like...make it grow faster?? please??

♡ once you explain to him that’s not how babies work, he kinda accepts it and just focuses his attention on you

♡ he kinda does some research on babies/pregnancy but not prior, he just does a quick google search when he needs to 

♡ but the intention is definitely there bc he googles the most trivial of things like ‘what to make pregnegant ppl for breakfast?’

♡ ‘what do pragnant ppl need from the supermarket?’

♡ ‘can my pregenunt wife have peanut butter?’

♡ ‘how to spell preaignant’ 

atsumu miya 

♡ DEEP denial

♡ he thinks you are playing a prank on him bc you don’t ‘look pregnant’

♡ even when you show him your positive pregnancy test he’s like ‘and how much did that cost?’

♡ he deadass acts as if he wasn’t the one who’s been trying to get you pregnant and raving on about how much he wants a family with you for the last few months 

♡ but he just doesn’t want to believe you bc he know he’ll get way too happy for his own good and he’s afraid to be let down

♡ plus, it was one of those ‘a blessing of this magnitude couldn’t have happened to me - of all people - so this is probably either a cruel joke or a hallucination.’ moments 

♡ he’s just so far gone that after your eleventh attempt at trying to convince him that you’re pregnant for real, you just give up

♡ so y’all just go around your business somewhat normally - except atsumu was more skittery - until your baby bump started to become more prominent

♡ one day, he came back from practise, noticed your bump and pulled you into the most passionate, heartfelt kiss before placing a gentle kiss upon your stomach, a buoyant grin gracing his features

♡ though he doesn’t say much since he is at a loss for words, he mutters a few sweet nothings into your ear as he carries you to the bedroom

♡ for a joke, he pretends to be gutted if you’re libido production decrease but really, he couldn’t care less

♡ but if it increases tho- 

♡ expect him to take full advantage of that 

♡ also, if he didn’t already treat you like his goddess, he does now 

♡ work has moved down his list of priorities and you + his baby are now at number one 

♡ usually he keeps his phone on silent/stuffs it into his bag while he is practising but now he insists on keeping it on full volume, out on the bench, just in case you call him for an emergency 

♡ same goes for texts; he will literally stop mid-set to rush over to his phone if he hears it vibrate 

♡ bokuto thinks it’s sweet but the rest of them get pretty annoyed of his antics quite quickly but whenever they try to call him out on it, he’s like ‘is your wife 6 months pregnant? no! i didn’t think so. i should be on paternity leave right now so be glad i’m blessing you with my presence.’

shōyō hinata

♡ he cannot stop thanking you

♡ as if you’re doing him a favour, which - depending on how you view it - you are

♡ he’s literally on his knees with his hands clasped together, tears of joy streaming down his face as he looks up at you in pure adoration, ‘thank you, (y/n)!’

♡ you tilted your head to the side and stared at him with a perplexed expression, ‘you’re welcome?’

♡ it’s a while before he moves from that position but when he does, it’s only so he can press his ear against your stomach to see if he can hear the baby 

♡ ‘shō, i don’t think it’s body has even formed ye--’

♡ ‘shh! it’s speaking to me.’ he chuckled then proceeded to squeeze his eyes shut, intensely listening to whatever the baby had to say 

♡ you quirked a brow, waiting for him to finish and once he did, he sprung to his feet and threw his arms over your shoulders to pull you in for a hug - in which he had to stop himself from squeezing you too tightly in fear of hurting you, as if pregnancy meant that your bones were now made of glass

♡ he’s just so happy that you agreed to bear his children 🙏

♡ also, seeing how excited you were to tell him about your pregnancy really prompted him to step up his husband-game 

♡ from now on, he loads the dishwasher, does both of your laundry, cleans the house on his own and cooks most of the food 

♡ he acts as if being pregnant means you are no longer able to do basic tasks but his real motive behind doing these things was not only to take the pressure off of you but to also prepare himself for father life 👍

♡ also, to prepare him for shopping for his kids’ clothes, he goes out and buys you maternity wear 

♡ he does this like...3 weeks into your pregnancy though so the clothes just sit and catch dust until a few months later when you actually need them 

♡ and although he is a bit of a pain to go stroller/pram shopping with (he just says buy whichever one goes the fastest), you let him take the reins when it came to buying/preparing the baby’s room and it came out beautiful!

♡ like the cradle was good quality and firm, the rug wouldn’t irritate the baby’s skin, the walls were painted expertly and the plushies/toys he picked out - unbeknownst to you at the time - kept the baby entertained for ages

♡ oh and no matter what day/week/month you are in of pregnancy, he will always look at you and your bump with the same amazement and gratitude as he did the first time you told him

[babydaddyleorio]

Skating at ‘S’

context: How your boyfriend would teach/train you for your ‘S’ tournament.

Reki

-Reki would teach you how to skate for S in the same sense that he taught Langa how to. He would demonstrate moves for you and then allow you to take the floor and try It yourself.

-Of course you end up falling and busting your ass quite often, but Reki will still cheer you on and encourage you to keep going from the sidelines.

-Reki will spend all night crafting a skateboard that he thinks would be comfortable for you to ride on. He designs It with things that he knows that you like and really puts his whole heart into making It as special as possible since It’s for you.

-During your training sessions, he would search up skating videos that he believes are really good and will pull you close so you can see them. The both of you stare at the screen with sparkles in your eyes as you see a person perform a cool trick and you would be so inspired that you’d have to give it a go yourself.

-Reki would also take you to an S race so you can see firsthand how the skating world operates. At first you think that It’s insane and you kind of regret getting yourself into this, but when you see Reki fly past you with his face focused and determined, your heart would start racing in excitement and for a split second you think that skating against someone wouldn’t be as bad as you thought.

-Reki can not wait to show you tricks that he’s been practicing over the years. He shows you how to Kickflip and Ollie, and the ginormous smile on his face as he’s teaching you let’s you see that skating is something he really loves.

-Everyday with Reki is something to look forward to and you appreciate how much he’s been preparing you. He waits for you at the park as he looks down at his phone, but the minute he sees you his whole body perks up. He’d give you a high five and the both of you would drop your skateboards, riding to the secret hideout with him reassuring you that you’ll do great in your race.

Langa

-Langa is a good skater, but his teaching could use a bit of work.

-Langa would recognize that he probably isn’t the best person to be assigned the role of a coach, so he would recommend Reki to help you, but you would insist that it’s him that teaches you.

-He’s super flattered that you want him to help you skate and would finally agree with a small smile now on his face.

-However, by the first day of practice you realize that Langa is absolutely terrible at explaining things. 

-Langa’s teaching methods tend to intersect with how he would snowboard. He will constantly slip up and use snowboarding lingo or skate as If he’s on top of snow, and he would have to remind himself to teach in a way that you would understand. 

-He would try to demonstrate a move for you once he sees that you’re still not getting it, but the board would end up sliding just as he steps on It, and he’d fall flat on his face.

-Yeah, you always have the first-aid on deck whenever you’re around Langa.

-But Langa insists that despite how bad he is at teaching, skating at S is the most exhilarating thing he’s done. He would tell you about how he’s won most of his races, and at first you would be a bit skeptical since he can barely stand on his board without hurting himself.

-It wouldn’t be until you saw him in action at S that you would finally see just how graceful and how much of a fast learner he truly is. You were inspired and you made a goal to be just like Langa when competing in your S race.

-You would then try to mimic his moves during practice one day and Langa would be so surprised to see you actually getting the hang of it. He would start clapping and shouting loudly for you to keep going because you honestly looked amazing.

-Once you finished your performance, you would stop right in front of Langa and the two of you dap each other with large smiles because you knew that you had this race in the bag.

Cherry

-First, what were you thinking? And second, why ask him of all people?

-Cherry would at first decline teaching you because he honestly had better things to do, but he would eventually give in when you hit him with the puppy eyes.

-He has such a soft spot for you and it irritates him so much that you have him wrapped around your finger.

-Cherry would be a very strict and punctual teacher, one who will immediately point out your flaws and give you precise advice on how to fix them. This is S we’re talking about so there is no room for mistakes.

-You guys would be on a schedule, most likely training in the morning and the afternoons. 

-Cherry would be somewhere in the shade, sipping from his drink calmly as you’re literally screaming at the top of your lungs as you zoom down the hill on your skateboard.

-Cherry would peak over his sunglasses at your body that was now stuck in a bush, but once he saw your legs slightly twitch, he’d come to the conclusion that you were okay although you clearly weren’t.

-He would get you your own technology based skateboard and you would be blown away at all the cool stuff It can do as you ride It. With this, he also gives you a digital layout of the obstacle courses so you know what to expect when it’s time to compete.

-Cherry would definitely be surprised when he comes out to your usual spot early one morning just to see you already practicing. You would have your balance down, be able to dodge obstacles, and be able to control your speed.

-You looked like a full fledged pro to say the least. 

-Cherry would give you a half smirk as he stood and watched you, hiding It behind his fan. 

-He was beyond impressed and would be slightly convinced that you could actually have a shot at winning your match. 

Joe

-Joe is super chill when he’s teaching you how to skate for S.

-He will help you get on the board and hold on to your body as he slowly guides you, slyly releasing you from his embrace once he’s figured you got the hang of it.

-He would keep quiet when he’s watching you, but once he sees that you’re really struggling, he will eventually tell you what your problem is and offer some advice.

-Definitely the type to close his eyes with his hands behind his head, trying not to laugh as he hears the curses and shouts come from your mouth as you continuously fail.

-It reminds him of the time when he first entered a S match and how hard he worked himself to win.

-However, the minute you say that you want to give up, he would sit down next to you and give you words of encouragement. He’ll probably even show you a video that he sneakily took of you and would rave about how great your skills were improving, even If you couldn’t really see the difference.

-If you still needed motivation, he would lazily get up from his spot and show you how it's done. You would be blown away by how effortlessly he skates, as well as how he’s not afraid to take chances.

-You would also roll your eyes because that man is such a show off. His shirt just had to come off, huh? 

-You would eventually get the hang of It and Joe would notice almost instantly. He’s very proud of you and would mutter something under his breath like “I knew you could do It.”

-After you finish skating, he takes you to his restaurant and cooks you a big meal. He’ll be laughing loudly as he tells you how great you’ll do at S tomorrow, plopping some spaghetti in his mouth as he cheeses at you.

[leejungchans]

— juliet on kingdom (episode 6).

juliet’s masterlist

from may 6’s episode

note: read the tweets from the bottom up 💕 keep in mind that this contains spoilers in case you want to watch the episode first :3 more under the cut bc i also went a tiny bit overboard with this 💀

— juliet’s outfit;

disclaimer: the blurring of faces in my outfit collages is in no way meant as a form of disrespect, the sole purpose is to put the focus on the hairstyle and there is absolutely no ill intent. thank you for understanding!!

when they were deciding on the groups for round 3, juliet was so happy they ended up choosing stray kids and btob

right after announcing that decision she immediately went to felix and gave him a big hug :((

but we came here to talk about the sports day 🤩

let’s make one (1) thing clear: juliet is here to make friends 😇

B U T she is also an ateez member, aka she is very competitive 💀

this is the same person who refused to sleep when playing the mafia game which was partly the reason for why it got banned from their dorms

probably texted felix the night before like “ily bestie but if we ever have to go head-to-head tmr ur going D O W N”

she said 🔥👄🔥

someone collect her please

ngl she was kinda jealous of skz’s pink outfits bc they looked so cute in them :(((

strawberry kids pls 🥺🥺🥺🥺

but her outfit was also adorable like what :((((

THE BUCKET HAT 🥺

this was also the tiniest she’s looked on kingdom since she always wore boots with some form of platforms for the performances :c

ateez and stray kids’ tables were next to each other so she finally had the opportunity to interact more with the others and not just chanlix!! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

pretty much became besties with jisung, changbin and jeongin after that day and also became friends with peniel 🤩🤩

there were still a lot of lixliet moments!!!! even in the background you could see them just chilling and having fun 🥰🥰

also bonded with changmin (from tbz, not the mc ahshjws😭) over liking horror movies and stuff

“you have a chUCKY DOLL??? CAN I SEE IT????? DO YOU HAVE A PHOTO??????? 🤩”

not them cooing over photos of his chucky doll like it’s a baby/pet photo 💀

ateez and the boyz: 👁👄👁 should we be afraid orrr...?

hongjoong, in the distance: you can admire it but don’t you dare bring one home

okay the vaulting competition ✨

while watching sf9 go she was like “:ccc but i’m already shorter than the first level (1.7m)” 💀

she got really shy when changmin read that she has 10 years of ballet experience uwu

changmin, jokingly: oh~ she’s shorter than the box already

juliet: ☹️☹️🥺🥺

changmin: whdjgjwhd sorry sorry sorry 😭

eunkwang: hey!!!! don’t make the baby sad!!!!!!!

she killed it!! mostly bc of her flexibility as she could lift her legs high enough to not touch the box!!

she made it past 2.2m so that’s pretty cool 🤩

eunkwang: maybe it has to do with being born in australia and being around kangaroos

gave the cameras a 🥰✌️🕺🏻😚 after every successful jump

everyone else being her biggest hypemen 😌 the privilege smh

okay but one time as she was running up to the box her hat flew off and she went “nooooo” in tiny and ran back to get it

literally everyone on set went 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 uwu

even the judge/referee laughed 😭

you know how people are like “hold my xxx”

that was juliet but with her bucket hat 💀💀

for her last attempt at 2.3m she uhhh... kinda body-slammed right into the box and knocked it over so they both fell onto the mat 🤕🤕

cue yunho, wooyoung, chan and minhyuk who immediately rushed up to her to see if she was okay :(

the others were like “is she okay???? :c”

ngl it hurt quite a bit but she was also very giggly bc she didn’t expect herself to make it that far

but after the adrenaline wore off she definitely felt the pain :(

so they had to vote for the visual king right

mnet was like ok juliet u can vote for the visual king but they can’t vote for u bc we don’t wanna start anything so u can be the visual queen and win by default 😄

“should i be insulted that they made me win by default 😅😅😅”

yes juliet actually said that on camera and they left it in 💀💀

she still took the selfie and mnet put hers up on the board with everyone else’s but with a little crown over hers that said ‘visual queen’ 💀💀💀💀💀

she was pretty embarrassed by that ngl but sigh what else can she do 😔

hyunjae, pointing to the tiny crown over juliet’s selfie: ohhhhhh does this mean we can’t vote for juliet?

eric: if we could she’d probably win by a landslide

sir we caught u in 4k 👁👁

when seonghwa said he thought felix was cute and wanted to adopt him as a little brother though 🥺

juliet went (◕‿◕) and immediately dragged him over to felix like “OI MATE HERE’S YOUR NEW FRIEND SEONGHWA”

Little Miss Indecisive makes a reappearance bc whO SHOULD SHE VOTE FOR?????

“can i vote for someone not on the show?”

she didn’t actually say that don’t worry

she ended up voting for minhyuk!!!

mostly bc she genuinely thought he was really cool but also bc they were far apart enough in age that people would be less likely to spread rumours

it do be like that sometimes :/

“minhyuk-sunbaenim was very charismatic in their performance from last round, and he was so cool just now during the vaulting competition so i’m going to vote for him!”

she did write a tiny disclaimer on her paper slip that said “everyone is handsome!! <3” though 🥺

WHEN FELIX PLACED 2ND IN THE VISUAL KING THINGY

biggest hypewoman

“YEAHHH FELIX THAT’S MY CUTE BESTIE RIGHT THERE EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LOOK AT HIM!!! FELIX VISUAL KING!!!!! SO TRUE BESTIE!!!!!!!!!”

hwjdbwjjs before they announced minhyuk as first the mcs asked juliet who she voted for and she was so shy when she said she voted for him 😭😭😭

she didn’t take part in the balloon snake tag game and the relay bc she was pretty exhausted from the vaulting (and also bc the boys told her not to bc they could tell she was still slightly in pain after she slammed into the box 🥺)

so instead she became everyone’s designated cheerleader :3

when wooyoung came first in the relay she was so proud!!!!

right after he crossed the finishing line she ran up to him and tackled him in a big hug :ccc

then she went up to eunkwang and asked if he was okay bc he fell during the relay :((((

in conclusion she had so much fun that day and was happy to make even more frens 🥰

— fan reactions;

a/n: this episode was so fun 😭 pls the vaulting game was so funny to watch ahdjjwjs but they all did so well???? i wouldn’t even make it past the first level so idk how minhyuk and chan both managed to go over 2.3m 😭 tbz were also so good at it though???? pls the way juyeon and changmin made it look so easy 👁👄👁 also eric was out for blood in the balloon snake tag game ahjshwjsb we stan 🤩 let me know what you think!! your support really means a lot to me and is what keeps me motivated so thank you all sm 💕💕

[stwrlightz]

CHERRY WAS AD*M'S ORIGINAL EVE

First of all I'm not an Ad*m's apologist, I hate him and this blog isn't a safe place for Ad*m and people who actually like him. I just fuck hate that guy deeply and strongly like all sane people should do. 

But I was deep analyzing the show and his motives and, well, I am this kind of person. 

Well, let's start. It's pretty obvious that the relationship with Cherry and Ad*m was way deeper than we thought in the beginning. After episode 9 it's too strong. But most of the fandom still thinks it's a one way thing, but I think it isn't. 

Well, I can't say Ad*m liked Cherry too because he can't care for anything or anyone. He is literally incapable of affection or love. This guy is sick, like, really. He has all of psychopathy's symptoms. But he isn't really indifferent to Cherry either.

His facial expression totally changes when he sees Cherry's name on the card. He isn't content with fighting Cherry and that's visible. The way his posture changes and he becomes quite all way long is very unusual for him. He always talks crazy shit with his adversaries in the beginning, even with Miya in the qualifiers. But when Cherry talks with him, he doesn't even look at him.

And in their previously meeting he looks at Cherry in a very different way. Ok and that's actually when the theory becomes. Look, he actually thinks it was Cherry and Joe who abandoned him, left him behind, even if Cherry is sure was him. He sort of feels abandoned for him too.

And why? Because Cherry was Ad*m's Eve even before he actually wanted Eve.

But he really wasn't his. He always belongs to someone's else.

I think the obsession of Ad*m with finding his skating match, his true pairing, it's because he saw the matchablossom relationship and he wanted something equal.

He has some sort of feelings for Cherry but even if they had anything or Cherry liked him back, he wasn't supposed to be with him, because Joe was always there.

In the flashback, all of them, but in this scene in particular when he shows his face to the guys, we see the Cherry point of view, but there's more of that. In the point of view of Joe's for example, he saw Cherry turning their conversation back to get to Ad*m. And Ad*m saw his friends talking away from him because there's  always two of them and him. 

Like, this mf wanted to be in there, maybe in Joe's place, and when he realized that isn't gonna happen, he goes crazy looking for his "Eve".

And that's why he thinks langa is his Eve too. Well, the resemblance with Langa and Cherry is pretty obvious and the Anime makes sure we get it. Cherry is the first person besides his mom with Langa to interact in the show. And well, there's no obvious reason for a guy, who can't even write his own name right, to apply for a job in a calligraphy studio. 

C'mon, even Cherry saw himself in Langa, he's super interested in him, looking in his files and finding about the snowboard and stuff. Grab him for the hand and help him when everybody else is laughing at him? Look at these two.

A guy whose skate superpower comes from a special personalized board that brings the best of his skill? Where have I seen that before? 

Sorry Ad*m, this one is taken too.

Well, this was my essay. And I'm pretty sure I went crazy last Saturday but that made some sense for me and I really wanted to share this thoughts. Feel free to discuss it with me if you want. I have so many theories about this anime. You can always send me a message or stuff. 

[hazel-light]

Chapter Word Count: ~7,500

Total Fic Word Count: ~30,000

Genre: (Wedding) Fake Dating, Friends to Lovers, lots of bed sharing and every self indulgent fluffy trope possible.

Warnings: None? Lots of fluff? Occasional cussing? Some suggestive themes, moments, and jokes I guess. No smut or anything!

Disclaimer: I am not Daniel Sharman, and I do not pretend to know how he would act, speak, etc. This is fiction okay, there’s a lot of creative license, and potential to be OOC. Ricky isn't mentioned because I started writing this before we knew he existed, so apologies for that. Also, if you’re DShar himself, please do us both a favor and don’t read this, okay???? Same if you know him 🙈

Title taken from the song Yellow Lights by Harry Hudson which suits this story quite a bit!

A/N: Okay okay here it is— the wedding fic I’ve been writing for literally six and a half months! I'm nervous and excited... this is the first fic I've written and posted in maybe 8? years. I asked you, and guys said you preferred chapters, so that's how I'll be posting. This first chapter is mostly exposition and fluff, the good stuff is coming I promise! I will be posting a part every day since the whole thing is already written. If you would like to be tagged, let me know. I would like to thank Rowena @heyrowena for being such a good friend and motivating me to be brave and get back into writing. Without you, this probably wouldn’t exist. Your motivation whenever I hit a roadblock or plot crisis was fundamental in helping the ending come together. I would also like to thank Tori @cavillsharman who spent countless hours talking out plots with me. Henry & Claire would not exist if it wasn’t for you! Thank you for bringing them to life with me. Thank you BOTH for helping me figure out how the heck to write kissing and ~romantic scenes. I think I hopefully found my way in the end. TLDR; Thank you Rowena and Tori, thanks for believing in me and helping this fic become a reality. ALSO! Thank you to my bestie Becka @kirklandhouse for giving all 100 pages of this a final proof/beta read with me to make it as smooth and shiny as possible. I love you! Okay. No more notes. I hope you enjoy it. Bye <3

—-

I sit in Daniel’s apartment, watching some new indie movie on Netflix. When he’s in town, we dedicate Wednesday nights to watching Netflix and playing some kind of card game together. It started originally as a group thing with board games, but eventually our friends' schedules fell apart, leaving it to just us most of the time.

My phone lights up and starts playing the typical FaceTime music, and I look down to see my cousin Ryan calling me; I decline the call. Daniel looks at me over his cards, knowingly.

“Is that your cousin? We can pause it,” he nods towards the TV.

Ryan and I are a good decade apart in age but really close. When I had to move across the country for work, I was heartbroken. Ryan was like the little brother I never had, and I’d lived with him, his mom — my Auntie Kim — and his sister Rachel nearly my whole life. I was worried the distance would change things between the two of us. Thankfully, it hadn’t.

I shake my head, watching the “missed call” light up on my lockscreen.

“No, it’s fine… I can call him later. He’s calling about his sister’s wedding.”

“Oh right, Rachel’s getting married this summer.”

I smile that he remembers, granted it would be hard not to. I have a tendency to talk about my family a lot, some might say too much.

“That’s coming up this summer, isn’t it? When is it — July?”

“Yeah, only two—” I’m cut off by my phone lighting up again, Ryan’s face once again on the screen. “God, he needs to stop. Sorry — let me text him.” I decline the call and start texting him, but before I can hit send, FaceTime is ringing again.

Daniel laughs, “I really think you should answer. He’s rather persistent.”

I shake my head, “Sorry.” I apologize before reluctantly answering the call, “Ryan, why are you—”

“Lauren!”

“Yes, hello.”

“I have been trying to reach you.” I look up at Daniel who has an amused smile on his face.

“I realize that, yes. I am doing something though, so is this an emergency, or...?”

“I was talking with Rachel and my mom, I guess the final guest count was due today.”

“Okay? That’s... nice. Is that… it?”

“Don’t worry, I told her you made a mistake on your RSVP; I fixed it just in time.”

I frown. “What do you mean? How did I make a mistake?”

Ryan rolls his eyes, and looks like he’s trying — and failing — not to look smug.

“You forgot to put that you were bringing a plus one.”

I laugh at that, “Yeah, I didn’t forget that, I don’t have a plus one.”

“I know.”

Silence.

“If you know that, why did you tell her I did? Your mom is going to be really mad if they pay for a plate of food for someone who doesn’t exist.”

Daniel’s fidgeting with his cards, but looking at me curiously.

“Because, Lauren. you need to find a plus one.”

“Uh —”

“No, no, no… listen. I’m bringing my girlfriend, and Rachel, who’s younger than you, by the way, is getting married. You’re, what? In your late twenties?” He takes a deep breath, “It’s time to find a mate.”

I visibly cringe at the messed up teenage boy logic. Daniel strategically places a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing, and I feel my cheeks start to heat up.

“A mate? Ryan, this is. Okay. That is, first of all, a really weird word choice. Second of all, thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it, but —”

“No, Lauren. Listen. If you show up to this wedding without a date, you owe me fifty bucks.”

“That is NOT —”

“But, if you show up with a date, I will give you a hundred bucks, PLUS my mom won’t be mad at you.”

“Ryan. Seriously. This is not cool — do you even have a hundred bucks?” I feel the panic setting in, and the secondhand embarrassment of this occurring in front of, arguably, the most good-looking man on the planet. Daniel wouldn’t have any idea what it was like to be made fun of by your entire family for never having a boyfriend — or even a date to anything. I feel my face getting hot, and I know anxious tears are in my future. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, to try to calmly explain to my cousin, yet again, that I couldn’t just make someone enter my life by sheer will, nevermind someone who would be willing to fly across the country with me in less than two months. “Plus, Ryan, I don’t know how to tell you this, but —”

I feel a hand on my arm and look up to see Daniel looking at me so seriously, I stop midway through my sentence.

“Lauren? Tell me what?”

I’m still looking at Daniel who shakes his head ‘no.’ Confused, I make the mistake of asking out loud, “What?”

“Lauren? Who are you talking to?”

I look back at Daniel who is still trying to tell me something with his expression, something I didn’t understand. “Sorry, Ry, I was just —”

“Can I talk to him?” Daniel asks softly, but definitely loud enough for Ryan to hear.

I watch Ryan’s face go through shock, “You’re with a guy right now? Was that an accent? You’re with a guy with an accent?” He starts laughing, but I’m no longer paying attention, I’m still looking at Daniel who is looking at me expectantly, a half smile on his face.

“Sure? Ryan, hold on.” I say, handing the phone over to him with blind trust. I watch as Daniel smiles and waves at the screen.

“Hey Ryan, nice to meet you. I’m Daniel… Lauren talks about you all the time.”

“Uh, hi?”

“Hey. I know this is weird and sudden, but there hasn’t been a good time to really tell you this— Lauren and I are dating,” I feel my eyes widen in shock, but Daniel just glances at me and smiles. “I asked her not to tell anyone — I’m actually an actor, and — ”

“Wait a second, you were in that show! She’s mentioned you before, she said you guys were just friends…” Ryan interrupts skeptically.

“I know, I know, and to be honest, we were friends first. I just didn’t want her to say anything to anyone until...” He pauses, taking a deep breath, and I watch, bemused at this performance. “Until we knew things were really serious, and that they’d work out.”

“Uh huh. Well, I have a lot of questions about that —”

“I’m sure —”

“But the first one is, if you guys are really dating, are you going to be her plus one to the wedding? Or are things not ‘serious’ enough for you yet?”

I roll my eyes; even in his skepticism, Ryan is still as overprotective as ever.

“No, no, I — I had to check my filming schedule first, but I actually don’t fly out to film my next project until the end of August, so. This works out nicely, and I’m excited to meet you, and everyone, in person.”

It’s quiet a second, and I can almost hear the wheels in Ryan’s head turning.

“Are you covering for her so you get my 100 bucks? You really have to be dating, if you come as her friend it doesn’t count—”

“I know. Trust me. I’m not in this for the money.” He grins, finally looking at me to gauge my reaction which is still one of perplexed fascination. He picks up my hand and kisses the back of it, turning back to Ryan. “You’ll see.”

—-

Daniel and Ryan have a bit of a relaxed chat before Daniel finally gives the phone back to me. Pleasantries firmly pushed aside, Ryan asks me why I didn’t tell him sooner and I double down on the story that Daniel had come up with. I’m a little worried that I look guilty — my face usually betrays me — but if I do, it seems like Ryan just assumes it was guilt from keeping a “secret” from him. When we go to hang up, he smiles at me and says he’s happy for me, and that he hopes I enjoy the rest of my night, winking playfully before hanging up. Once again my cheeks are flushed red.

I let the hand holding the phone fall into my lap, turning my head against the couch to look at Daniel. Not knowing what to say, I shake my head.

He smiles, “Are you mad at me?”

I laugh, “Why would I be mad… are you mad, in the head? Are you really going to fly back to Massachusetts with me?”

He shrugs, smirking, “I do have a lot of miles to use.”

I shake my head, “This isn’t just... this is a commitment, though. If you thought Ryan had questions, wait until you see the rest of my family.” I frown. “They’re going to ask to take pictures with you to post on Facebook.”

“Are they?” he muses, “You think they’ll recognize me?”

“Well, to be honest, they might not… but if you tell them what you do, it won’t even matter. It’s like….” I struggle to find the words. “Clout chasing.”

He shrugs, “Okay.”

“Okay? That doesn’t bother you?”

“I mean, we are friends, we’ve been seen together before, I think it will be fine. Plus, I’ll be on my best behavior.” He puts on a mock serious tone. “No PR scandals.”

I laugh, “Right, because that’s my real concern here.” I pause, thinking it over in silence.

“Why’d you do it?” I don’t need to explain what ‘it’ is. He looks at me for a second before fidgeting with his cards he had previously discarded to talk to Ryan.

“You, uh, get really upset — I know you joke about it, being ‘undateable’ but…” He trails off and after a moment he starts again. “You looked really upset. And if I could help, I wanted to, I guess.”

I scoff. “You didn’t have to volunteer to be my fake boyfriend because you felt bad for me.”

He gives me his signature cheek: “For the record, I’m an actor. I’m a fake boyfriend professionally.”

I laugh, fueled by nerves. “I never thought about it like that.”

“It’ll be fun to meet your family.”

I bite my lip. “Well, get ready, I guess, because this may be your hardest role yet!”

He pretends to weigh the idea in his head, tilting his head to the side. “Mmm, somehow I don’t think so, but don’t worry, we can hold extra rehearsals just in case.”

“Alright. You let me know what that entails.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

We smile at each other. All of a sudden, I realize that the movie’s still playing, and neither of us have paid any attention to it for the better part of an hour. I check the time on my phone.

“We’re going to have to start this movie over next Wednesday. We missed the whole first half, and it’s getting late. I should probably get going.”

“Oh, okay. You know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I know you have an early morning.”

I get up and start gathering my things, moving towards the door. “You’re sweet. Thanks.”

I move to hug him goodbye.

“What are fake boyfriends for?”

I feel myself blush again. “Well. You’re sweet for even agreeing to be my fake boyfriend. I forgot to say thank you.” I look him in the eyes, hoping he can sense the sincerity. “Thank you.”

He smiles softly, “You’re welcome. It’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

—-

The following Wednesday, Daniel has some Skype meetings about the project he’s starting in August and our schedules don’t align for the rest of the week. We still text here and there, and I don’t know if or when we’re going to talk about the wedding. He seemed so nonchalant about the whole thing, but I’m still nervous, and I have a lot of questions swarming in my head. I’m sure I could have texted them to him, but I don’t know how to word things, and I figure it’s best just to discuss in person, where I can read him better.

I knock on his door, pizza box in my hand. A moment passes before Daniel opens the door, looking particularly cozy in an oversized sweater.

“Hey,” he smiles, pushing hair out of his face. “Come on in, sorry — I got a bit caught up in the script my agent just sent over.” He leads me over to the couch, where I see lots of printed pages scattered across the coffee table. He starts piling them together, making room for me to put the box down.

“That’s okay, no worries. Is it a good project? One you’re interested in, I mean?”

It’s no secret that Daniel is sent more projects than he bothers to audition for. At this stage of his career, he’s particular about the projects he signs on for. The character and the premise have to be something he believes in, something he cares about.

He glances up at me from where he’s organizing the pages.

“Yeah, I think so. There’s a lot of... sort of psychological conflict in this one, which I like.” He picks up the last of the pages before putting them in a folder and walking off in the direction of the kitchen. “Let me just put this away and then I’ll get plates and napkins — do you want anything to drink?”

“Water is fine,” I call after him, finally placing the box down on the table, sitting down in my usual place on the couch and shrugging my bag off my shoulder.

He comes back into the room carrying two glasses and two plates, a piece of notebook paper tucked between his fingers.

“So, uh, I hope it’s okay, but I put together a list.”

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “A list for what?”

“Things we’ll need answers for, for your family. Like character backstory… things like when we started dating — so our answers match.” He says it very matter-of-fact, like this was just everyday conversation and not something I’ve been silently obsessing over for the better part of a week.

“Oh! That’s really thoughtful,” I smile. “Good idea.”

He shrugs, handing me a plate and opening the pizza box, “I do it for every role.”

“Right,” I nod. We take a few minutes to eat and talk over our week, and then he wipes his hands on his napkin and picks up his list again.

“Alright, so, how we met, I figure we can keep the truth, that’s fine.”

“Yup, you came to see your friend in the community play, which I also happened to be in, you came to dinner with us after the show, and our friend group melded shortly after that.”

He gestures to the pizza box, “And now we’re having dinners of our own.”

I laugh, “We are.”

“So that’s when we met, but when did things change?”

I sit thinking, and Daniel does the same.

I’ve probably had a crush on Daniel since I saw him that first night; he’s the kind of person it’s hard not to feel drawn to right away. He has a way of making people feel seen, and his comments on the show were so thoughtful. I valued his compliments before I even knew he was an actor professionally. I wonder if I could say the truth out loud in a way that was nonchalant, make it seem like a concept that wasn’t based on real experience.

“Well,” I begin, clearing my throat. “I probably liked you from the word go, but I wouldn’t have done anything about it. So that would have had to come from you.”

“Huh,” he scratches his chin. “Leaving it all up to me. No pressure.” He chuckles. “I— hmm. I would need to know, or at least think you liked me before doing anything.”

“Oh, so you decide who to date based on who likes you, I see,” I tease.

“Fuck off, obviously I like you— would like you if I was going to date you, but I mean. I don’t want to be one of those guys creeping on his friends who aren’t interested.”

“Sure, Sharman, sure. So…?”

“Alright. Well, realistically, how long could you have been hiding this from your family? You talk to them all the time.” I roll my eyes but know he’s right. “So a month, maybe? That brings us back to April… . Got it— my birthday.”

“Happy birthday, I’m your girlfriend now!” I fake cheer.

He looks me dead in the eyes, replying with mock sincerity. “The best present I could have ever asked for.”

“Oh, shut up! So ridiculous. What happened on your birthday? What changed, as you say?”

I watch him think, curiously, thinking back to his birthday myself. It was a low key get together at his house with a bunch of his friends, some of whom were our mutual friends. He was grinning the whole night, and I loved to see him so carefree and happy.

“When you brought out the cake,” he starts, still staring off into space, “your face was all lit up by the candles, and everyone was singing, but all I could think about was how beautiful you looked. I realized I had to tell you how I felt, so I did. I pulled you aside at the end of the night and we talked, and then I kissed you.” He looks up at me. “What do you think?”

“That’s beautiful,” I compliment, trying not to think about how much I wish that really happened, that he really thought that when I brought out his birthday cake. “Who knew you were such a romantic deep down?”

He laughs bashfully. “I think you knew.”

“Maybe I had an inkling,” I smile. “What’s next on the list?”

He looks down at his list. “Have we said the big L word yet?”

“For sure. That same night.”

Daniel laughs and gives me a strange look. “You were ready for that one.”

“Well, I don’t know— you don’t confess to ‘kind of like someone’ when you’ve already been friends as long as we have.”

He smirks. “Right, well, when you say it like that, who could argue?”

—-

It’s another Friday when I’m lying down on Daniel’s couch with my eyes closed, when I feel him come and sit next to me, perching on the edge of the cushion. He laughs quietly to himself before I feel him start twirling one of my rogue curls around his finger. I open my eyes to see him smiling down at me, newly topped off drink in his hand. We’ve been playing a drinking game to one of his old favorite movies, and we’re both sufficiently tipsy.

“Hi,” I say, looking up at him.

“Oh hello.” He stops playing with my hair, smoothing it back into place. “Fancy meeting you here.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re always so funny, have I told you that?”

“Mmm,” he pretends to think. “Probably, but I always love when you remind me.”

“I aim to please,” I say, pulling myself halfway up to lean back against the couch cushion. We look at each other for a minute before I feel self-conscious and look away, reaching for my glass of water on the table. “What’re you thinking about?”

He watches me take a sip and says nothing. I quirk an eyebrow up at him, and put my glass back on the table. “Hello?”

“Just trying to figure out if now’s a good time.”

I frown. “Good time for what?”

He says nothing again, still looking at me. I narrow my eyes at him. “Just a reminder, I have anxiety, so if you could hurry up, that would be so very excellent.”

He laughs at that, taking a sip of his drink. He pulls a face after he swallows and leans forward to put the glass on the table.“Bad mix, that.”

“Sharman, honestly. Focus, please.”

“Sorry, sorry. Alright.”

I look at him expectantly.

“There’s one thing we haven’t really talked about— for the wedding.”

My stomach turns, as I try to think of what we could have missed. “What is it?”

“The, uh. Like, the physicality of it.”

I don’t say anything for a moment, the words slowly processing in my head through the fog of liquor.

“That sounds… very technical. Please elaborate.”

He runs a hand through his hair and I can’t tell if he’s nervous or exasperated. “Like kissing, holding hands— that sort of thing. I just thought, maybe it would be less awkward? To talk about this, uh, slightly inebriated... for you, I mean.”

“Uh huh, for me. I see.”

“Well,” I see the playfulness in his eyes. “You are the self-proclaimed nervous one.”

I bump my shoulder against his. “And I don’t kiss people for a living.”

“Mmm, I don’t think that’s my entire job, but,” he smirks, “lucky for you, I have had lots of practice.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

It’s quiet for a minute.

“Anyways, I was going to say — we should practice. Kissing, I mean. If the first time we kiss is in front of your family, that could be problematic. And extremely uncomfortable.”

I laugh, blushing, and blurt out the first thing I think of: “Oh, so you got me drunk not to talk about kissing me, but to actually kiss me.”

He shrugs, “I didn't want you to overthink it.”

“Mmmm,” I muse. “How thoughtful.”

He smiles at me. “Well,” he says, bringing up a hand as if he’s brushing hair behind my ear and keeping it there. “As your fake boyfriend, I have to be, don’t I?”

I smile, not saying anything. I feel him shift closer, and my heart starts pounding in my chest. “Can I kiss you now?” he whispers.

I nod, my heart still pounding.

He gently presses his soft lips to mine before pulling back for a second. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, my hand gently moving up his bicep as he leans back in. This time I follow his lead as our lips slowly move together. He kisses me more purposefully and my breath catches in my throat, my hand wandering to his chest. I feel his hand move to my hip, his fingers mindlessly reaching just under the hem of my shirt. His hand is cold, but his touch burns my skin and sends a shiver up my spine.

“C’mere,” he murmurs against my mouth, maneuvering me into his lap effortlessly. I don’t even have time to feel self-conscious about it because his hands, his huge, warm hands, are holding my face tenderly as he kisses me like I’m his prized possession.

His tongue glides along my bottom lip, subtly asking to be let in. Almost too eagerly, I open my mouth, and he hums low in his throat, deepening the kiss. While I don’t want to think about it, I force myself to remember that while this is something I’ve dreamed about, Daniel’s an actor— and he’s acting.

I savor the moment before we pull apart, both breathing heavily. Daniel’s eyes are still closed, his face flushed, lips a warm pink. I admire the freckles sprinkled on his cheeks and feel myself begin to blush furiously. I tuck my head into his neck as I feel one of his hands stroke my hair.

His voice is soft and slightly hoarse as he asks, “You alright?”

I nod, breathing him in deeply before pulling back to look him in the eyes.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah,” he bites his lip. “I think… I think we have that down.”

I can’t help but laugh from nerves, and then he laughs too. Flustered, I smooth my hands over his shirt where it wrinkled when he placed me in his lap. I carefully get off of him, his hands falling to his sides as I resume my spot next to him on the couch. I already miss his warmth and I have no clue what to do with my hands now.

I can feel Daniel’s eyes on me, so I look back at him. His face is unreadable; I shoot him a reassuring smile, and after a moment he seems to snap back to reality and he smiles back at me.

I wonder how I’m supposed to go back to just being his friend when this is all over when I now know how it feels to be desired by him, wanted by him, even if it’s all just for show.

“So!” Daniel says, clapping his hand on his knees. “What time am I meeting you tomorrow? Or are you coming here first? Do you need me to pick you up?”

I laugh again. “We never decided! Do you want to carpool? Because we definitely can.”

“Yeah, let’s do that so I can control the music—”

“Excuse you—”

“Besides, we’re going to my stylist, so I know how to get there.”

“For your suit. I told you I can just get a dress at the mall —”

“But that’s unnecessary since we’re going to match, and we’re going to my stylist already. I already had Alicia grab a bunch of dresses for you to try.”

“Which are probably going to be approximately eight million dollars —”

“No. They aren’t. And if they are —”

“—If they are, I am going to buy a dress at the mall.”

“—Then either I can pay for part of it, or I can have her pull some other options —”

“You’re not going to pay for it, I’m serious —”

“—It’s not a big deal, Laur, you need to relax.”

“That’s annoying, don’t tell me to relax.”

“Okay, sorry…”

I sigh dramatically as I swipe my phone open to get an Uber home, and he bumps his shoulder into mine to get my attention.

“But seriously, what time?”

“What time did you tell Alicia we would be there?”

“2:30, I think?”

“Okay, then if we aren’t going to the mall first —” Daniel grins triumphantly. “— then do you want to grab me at like 1:45?”

“For you, I can do that.” he smirks as my phone chimes, alerting me that my ride is approaching.

I stand up to gather my things as Daniel follows me to the door.

“Lauren,” Daniel calls, lightly grabbing my wrist as I go to step out. I turn to face him only to be greeted by his lips on mine. As soon as they’re there, they’re gone.

Daniel keeps his face an inch from mine as he says, “You’re going to have to get used to that.” He smirks. “Text me when you get home safe.”

I shake my head. “See you tomorrow.” And this time, I catch him off guard, kissing him quickly before I turn around, walking out of his place to the sound of his laughter.

—-

I climb into the passenger seat of Daniel’s car, finding him snapping his gum, one hand on the steering wheel and sunglasses on. He looks good.

“Good morning LaurLaur,” he grins.

“Good morning to you too,” I laugh. “You’re in a good mood.”

He shrugs, pulling away from the curb. “Am I? Just pleased you’ve given up on going to the mall. It’s bloody awful over there.”

“Are you sure Alicia is okay with styling me? She’s not my stylist.”

He laughs, “Are you kidding? She was over the moon. Says styling me is boring, and girls are much more fun.”

“Ironic, since she’s your stylist. This seems so fancy for one wedding.”

I can’t see it, but I know he’s rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses. “It’s really so much easier. Plus this way we’ll match, and be cute and shit.”

“Oh yeah, ‘cute and shit,’ that’s us.”

Daniel grins, reaching over to thread his fingers through mine. “Not yet, but it’s going to be, darling.”

My stomach dips at the nickname even though I know he’s just teasing me.

I roll my eyes and try not to blush, turning to look out the window, trying to ignore the way his thumb traces the back of my hand.

When we walk into Alicia’s studio, we’re surrounded by mirrors and good music.

Alicia lights up right away when she spots us.

“Well, well, well, look who it is. Daniel Sharman and his lovely mystery guest.”

I shoot Daniel a look and he rolls his eyes. Alicia must see the exchange because she laughs.

“I’m teasing, he told me you were coming. I just was starting to think I’d never see the day I got to style Sharman and a lady friend.”

“Alicia, I don’t pay you to embarrass me,” Daniel jokes, leaning in to give her a hug.

“Yeah, because I do that for free.” She winks at me.

“I’m Lauren, it’s nice to meet you,” I reach out to shake her hand, but she pulls me into a tight, warm hug.

“We’re huggers around here, especially since you’re letting me style you on this guy's dollar—”

“Oh no,” I interject, “I’ll be paying for all of my things—”

“No can do, chica, this guy’s already made me promise to send him the bill.”

I turn and glare at Daniel. “Daniel Sharman, you promised me—”

He waves me off. “It’s easier this way. Can we just worry about that later? Let’s see what Alicia put together for us, shall we?”

I cross my arms, vowing to get back to the subject once we’re back in the car, and turn back to Alicia, who’s walking us over to some racks and tables she has set up.

“Okay, well, Daniel didn’t really give me a lot of details as to what colors or styles you like, but he did show me your Instagram, so I got an idea of your coloring and made some guesses as to your sizes. You’re so pretty in person, by the way—”

“I, uh— thank you.” I stammer, unsure if it’s a compliment or a suggestion that I don’t photograph well.

“So I kind of compared your coloring with his, and I figured you guys could have either a blue moment, or we could have Daniel in grey and accent one of these other colors I pulled for you.”

I look over the table and see some green, some pink, and some purple.

“I have a bunch of styles too, not sure if you wanted sleeves, strapless… I figured you could try some on and we could go from there.”

“Okay,” I say, feeling slightly overwhelmed. “Thank you.”

“No problem, honey! Daniel, I obviously have suits for you to try, too. Let me go get those.”

She wanders away for a minute and I turn to Daniel. “This seems way more focused on me than you— also, still extremely annoyed about that paying-for-everything stunt you pulled.”

“I told you that guy fashion is boring, and really, you can just Venmo me after, it’s not a—”

We both hush as Alicia returns, wheeling out another rack with gray and navy blue suits on it.

“Alright, so Daniel, you know where the fitting room is if you want to look through these and take some options with you. Lauren, I’m just going to do some quick measurements on you if that’s okay, so I can narrow down your dress size.”

“Oh, um, sure.”

As Daniel leaves the room, Alicia leads me to a circular pedestal in front of a three tiered mirror. She takes out her measuring tape and takes a few different measurements, writing some things down on a notepad.

Once we finish, Alicia walks over to her table and the dress rack, reviewing her options. I stand there quietly watching her pick up dresses and fabric swatches, look at me, and either put them down or add them to an empty rack. Daniel comes waltzing back into the room in a light grey suit. It sits a little wide through his torso, and the sleeves are a little too long, but he still wears it well.

“Thoughts on this one, ladies?”

Alicia gives him a quick once over.

“I was hoping you’d like that one! The grey will be nice and cool for the summer, but I want to tailor it in some. Make it a bit more fitted.”

I smirk. “Make sure he has enough wiggle room to dance.”

Alicia laughs. “That I can absolutely do.”

Daniel looks at me expectantly.

I smile. “You look really good, D.”

He nods at me and smiles back.

“Have you tried any dresses on yet?”

“Not yet, Alicia was just pulling the ones she wants me to try.”

Daniel walks over to the table, looking at the pieces Alicia has hung up on the rack.

“These jewel tones are going to look lovely on you.”

“Oh, thank you.” I blush, not missing the slight elbow that Alicia gives Daniel. Alicia walks over to me, three dresses in hand.

“Why don’t you try these three on and we’ll go from there.”

She shows me over to a changing room and hangs up the dresses for me, telling me to come out and show them when I’m done.

I take a second to admire my options. The first dress I pick up is a deep ocean blue green in a soft, silky material. It dips down into a modest V in the front, with a flared skirt.

The second is a muted bubblegum pink, strapless and fitted in the bodice, with a thin tulle skirt that brushes the floor.

The last is a periwinkle with lavender undertones, and is a bit more flowy with ruched fabric coming over the shoulder and defining the bodice in a deeper V-neck — but still respectable for a family wedding. Alicia knows her stuff.

I decide to try the blue-green dress first, as I’m drawn to the color right away. It’s maybe the simplest of the options, but that’s what I like about it. I’m a bit surprised that it seems to fit so effortlessly. It seems like I’d be able to wear it all day, dance and not have to fidget too much. I smooth my hands over it and peek out of the dressing room, where Daniel and Alicia are waiting.

“Okay, option number one,” I announce.

“It might be one and done,” Alicia shakes her head. “That looks really gorgeous on you.”

“Beautiful,” Daniel chimes in from next to her.

I smile. “Thank you. I really like this one.”

“Try on the other two just for fun,” Alicia suggests, and I nod, heading back to try on the pink dress.

The chest on the pink dress is a little big on me for a strapless, but I hold it up as I head back out to show them.

Alicia narrows her eyes. “A little big in the bust… I could bring that in. I think it might look a little more prom-y on than I anticipated. We could take the skirt up, but I don’t know. I don’t like it as much as the first.”

Daniel hums from next to her, and I look at him expectantly.

“It’s up to you two, but I agree. That first dress is going to be tough to beat.”

We laugh and I head back in to try on the last dress. This one is extremely elegant, and I feel very glamorous. I like it much more than I thought that I would. I step out to show them, and Alicia whistles.

“Okay miss thing, where're you going? The red carpet?”

Daniel smirks and nods. “I really like that on you.”

“I like it more than I thought I would. It’s probably between this and the first one for me.”

Alicia nods. “I have more options, but since we have two we like, I don’t see the sense in complicating the decision more.”

“I’m going to need you guys to help me choose.”

Daniel looks at Alicia, who thinks for a moment before pulling her phone out of her pocket.

“Let me take a picture, and then can you put the first dress on again?”

“Sure.” I smile as she takes the picture, before quickly changing into the ocean-colored dress again. I twirl in front of them playfully while we deliberate.

Daniel speaks first. “I like this one. It’s just… you. You seem comfortable in it, and the color looks amazing on you.”

I blush and look at Alicia, who’s nodding in agreement. “I agree. The other one is very pretty— you look like a star, but I think for the wedding, this is the way to go.”

“I think so, too. This one is just… easy, but still pretty.” I turn to Daniel. “You didn’t try on the other suits— are you sold on the grey one?” He looks down, like he forgot he was wearing it. “Yeah, I think so, especially with your dress. I wouldn’t want to wear navy with it.”

“All very good points,” I nod.

Daniel turns to Alicia, who’s writing something down in her notebook. “Do you have ties or something that would match her dress?”

Alicia raises an eyebrow. “Going for the matching look, huh?”

Daniel looks at me, smirking. “Yeah, we have to be cute.”

I roll my eyes at him and Alicia snorts.

“I did pull some accessories for you, so let me look.”

Alicia wanders off in search of a tie and a pocket square and Daniel grins at me.

“This?” he gestures between us, still in our outfits. “Cute as shit.”

-------------

feedback welcome!

tagged; @rogershoe

[canmom]

toy story fanfiction

sid redemption guro fic written at 6am last night on a strange whim

in the years following the events of toy story (1995), Sid struggled to come to terms with what he could only describe as a strange hallucination. he wasn't supposed to get those anymore! he begged his parents to dispose of the remaining 'mutant' toys with a fervour they found hard to explain - because, terrified they would send him back to the psych ward, he refused to describe what had upset him. without toys, he found himself at a loss, and resorted to expressing the strange images that motivated him on paper, now combined with lilliputian images of tiny figures peeling back eyes and climbing into mouths. so it was perhaps not a surprise that, some years later, he found his way into the world of online fetish art, particularly size kink and dollification.

for sid's toys, meanwhile, there was some dissent. sealed in a box and left to rot in the attic (with the vague intention to take them to a thrift store later), a faction among them started to argue that perhaps the creative perversity of sid's playstyle was not so bad after all... after all a few even went so far as to propose breaking the one sacred rule of toy-kind, and making direct contact with a human. after all, they were already outcasts, with no standard form. what did they have to lose? not all agreed, and a brutal and quiet civil war played out, but ultimately the no-contact faction lost; they were stripped for parts and reassimilated. united in purpose, it was not so difficult for the toys to cut their way out of the box and start spying on Sid...

after about a month observing his routines, the toys determined that Sid rarely left his room, preferring to spend as much time as possible glued to the computer chatting with his boyfriend and a minimum in the vicinity of his parents. one of the toys found an old phone in a drawer, and, connecting it to Sid's wifi network, the group made preliminary contact with the young artist. they were quite direct, but - although a little disquieted - Sid took 'we are your old toys' as a roleplay scenario, and played along. the toys took turns talking, but this clearly wasn't going right.

then the emergency came: Sid started packing his belongings into boxes - planning, it became clear, to finally move in with his boyfriend in another state. something drastic had to be done, said babyface. we have to go in.

for sid, the sight of his old toys crawling out of the skirting board and arranging themselves on his desk was, quite literally, something out of a nightmare. he ran to his dresser, ripping open drawers to find his old box of medicine - it had been so long, why now? he'd made so much progress goddamnit, finally ready to move out, was it the stress? he couldn't risk his parents hearing.

it took several hours for him to calm down. the toys sat, watching him with their plastic eyes. he sat on the bed, unwilling to move.

then, 'ducky' (the spring mounted pair of arms with a duck head) hopped off the desk and disappeared back where the toys came from. a minute later, she reappeared, carrying his shitty old samsung phone, and started poking at it on the desk.

sid's phone buzzed...

with a wary eye on the toys on his desk, he pulled it out of his pocket. a dm from his friend from the internet, the plural one with the weirdly obsessive fantasy scenario about being... wait, come on, that's ridiculous

mutantcollective: yo sid mutantcollective: chill out dude it's just us

jingle joe waved his weird little wire arm thing.

sid had to laugh. it made no fucking sense. what was this about, a tribunal for his sins as a toy owner? what next, would scud come back?

sid winced. scud was never coming back, you fucking idiot. he'd been splattered on the road, leaving sid with a vivid image of his eyeball coming to rest in the gutter. he'd channeled it into drawing - what else could you do? sick fucking world.

hannah hammered on the door. "hey dipshit, the van's here." she laughed, but with warmth. "you're really fucking that guy?"

the operation had been a year in the planning. hannah's birthday had passed, the paperwork was in place, they just had to get out before the parents got home. they would be gone without a trace, and his parents could howl to the cops all they wanted, but sid and hannah would finally be free...

so of course his stupid fucking brain had to pull something like this. what even gives?

sid's toys were still staring up at him. what did they expect him to do? "you're not real." just a whisper. "i'm getting out of here. you're not real."

at that moment the door opened. hannah stepped in, slightly sweaty. "c'mon big bro, that's all my shit---oh my god dude." she punched him on the arm. "you still got these little guys? bless..."

froglegs (as frog had taken to calling herself after she attached the deceased Legs's legs to her body) made a very quick executive decision. damn the consequences. she struck her most endearing pose and said...

"hi hannah. remember me?"

hannah sat down, very heavily.

and sid? sid was hit by a wave of nausea. it was real. it was all fucking real. every time he strapped some plastic to a firework, to express - he didn't even know what, that was a real thinking being he had blown to bits and oh goddamn fuck why was his dick hard, that is not appropriate sid!!

"i'm sorry." he said, rather stupidly. yeah, sid, "i'm sorry." you can say that at the hague. when you get your... your genocide trial.

"you weren't lying." hannah said. "i gave you so much shit... you weren't lying."

sid felt a warmth on his face... he was crying. why would he be crying? it was too much.

"i didn't know. i didn't know." how did this make any goddamn sense? sid had sawn apart more than enough plastic to confirm that the insides of the toys were just, well, plastic. not brains or muscles. and yet, here they were, standing on his desk...

...scrolling his blog?

froglegs had walked over to the edge of the desk, dragging the phone. with a piece of metal, she was scrolling through his drawings. after a minute, she stopped on one.

sid recognised it. it was a concept he'd never managed to build...

"i like this one." said froglegs. "i think you should make that. i think we'd get on."

there was a rumbling of assent from the assorted toys.

ducky piped up. "what she means is... what we all mean is..."

babyface picked up the sentence. "we missed you, sid."

rockmobile piped up. "you think mattel is going to release something like me?"

"for my part," said ducky, "i just want you to fuck me up." she shivered, rocking on her spring.

"just pull my arms off, yeah?"

"this is... a lot." hannah looked at sid. he still hadn't spoken. "like where do you even start!? are all toys alive? are we just haunted? and i know you're into some real messed up stuff big bro but are you seriously telling me your toys were, well-"

sid walked to the table. he picked up ducky. she was quivering, alive, not like plastic.

she held out an arm.

the other toys on the table all - sid swore - took in a breath.

"sure."

the arm popped out easily. ducky started bouncing around like wild.

the other toys clustered at the edge of the desk, reaching up. "hey, do me!"

sid doubled over laughing. if this is a dream, don't let it end. he popped ducky's arm back in.

"you'll. have to explain a lot." he muttered. "but right now..."

hannah shook her head, dusting herself off.

"right now," sid continued, "andy's waiting, and if we don't get these boxes down the stairs..."

something bumped into his leg.

"say no more." said roller bob.

years later, after all the unexpected viral success, the callouts and polycule drama and magazine interviews and museum exhibits and burnout and patreon exclusives that form the life of an online artist, sid and andy were sitting at the beach watching a clothiers dummy argue with an inflatable boat. sid's knowledge of the great secret had spread rapidly across the secret toy darknet irc channels, and he would still almost daily receive packages of toys who had posted themselves to the rumoured haven where toys could live openly in the bodies they desired.

later, he would give a talk to the neo-animist movement on what exactly constituted a toy... but for now... it was almost time for the fireworks display, and a very special toy was going up this time...

"are you sure this is what you want?"

"i'm sure." babyface raised their pincers into a shrug. "it's not suicide, you know? plastic's pretty tough."

"well." sid said. "if you insist. if we meet again..."

"i will tell you all about the great pacific plastic gyre, don't worry. i imagine it to be... quite spiritual."

[youngbeezer]

May i please have a hurt/comfort fic with jujhar khaira? Like the reader got yelled at by their boss and is upset about it? That man is so damn beautiful and I want him to COMFORT ME DAMN IT 💀

A/N: oh my gosh anon im so sorry this literally took me forever to finish. life has started to catch up to me a little so i havent had much time to write (also had very little motivation), but here it is,,,

thank you for requesting, i hope you like it :)

Word Count: 1177

Warning(s): curse words, toxic work environment, i also dont know that much about jujhar so i hope i portrayed him okay!!!

join my taglist

I try to hold back on the lingering tears that threaten to spill out as I make my way back to my office cubicle. I just got out of one of the worst meetings I think I have ever taken part in. My boss gave me a total chewing out in front of some of our higher board members, totally embarrassing me and making me look like a horrible employee. He also gave me such an unrealistic expectation for an assignment that he wants me to have finished by tomorrow morning.

Once I tried explaining how unreasonable that was (in the most polite way possible), he then went on to go around the entire table and point out how much better every other employee is compared to me.

So yeah. My day’s been complete shit.

The thing is though, my boss is just a sexist, misogynistic man. I work my ass off every single day I am in this office, finishing all my work on time, putting in extra hours, and even making stupid coffee runs for the board members (filled with all men). But nothing I do seems to make my boss happy.

I shield my face with my hair when my coworkers walk past me. I can hear their hushed whispers and feel their judgmental stares piercing through me. I let out a huff when they walk away and start counting down the seconds until I get to leave this hellhole.

And as soon as that clock hits 4:00PM, I grab my purse and practically sprint out of there.

When I get far enough away from the building, the waterworks begin. And they don’t stop even when I pull into the driveway of the apartment I share with my boyfriend.

And it seems like the tears blurred my vision enough that I totally didn’t notice that Jujhar’s car was in the lot, since as soon as I opened the door I am startled to find my boyfriend lounging on the couch.

It seems as if I alarmed him as well when I unintentionally slammed the door behind me, since he’s immediately making his way to my side.

“What happened?!” Jujhar panicked, grabbing a hold of my tear stricken face to make sure I wasn’t hurt at all.

A little scowl crosses my face when the thought of my horrible day passes through my mind again. “I hate my boss.” I pout out.

Jujhar’s face hardened at my words before he questioned, “What did he do this time?”

“He completely embarrassed me in front of all the board members and made me look like a worthless employee.”

“What a dick.” I hear Jujhar mutter underneath his breath. He squeezes my shoulders reassuringly before leading me into our bedroom. “Why don’t you get changed into some comfy clothes and come back into the living room and we can talk a little more about everything. Or we could just watch a movie or something if you aren’t up to talking.”

I bring him into a much needed hug and sigh contently in his arms. “Ok. I’ll be right out.”

Jujhar gives me a reassuring smile as he makes his way out of the bedroom to let me change.

After changing into a pair of sleep shorts and one of Jujhar’s Oilers sweatshirts, I make my way back into the living room and flop down into the seat next to my boyfriend. He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer into his body.

“Wanna talk about it?” He cautions, running his fingers gently across my back.

I let out a sigh and relaxed forward into Jujhar’s body before responding. “I just don’t know what to do. Nothing I do is ever right and I feel like I am just wasting my talent since it’s obviously not appreciated there.”

Jujhar lets me go on my little rant and waits until I am fully finished to respond. He makes sure to look me directly in the eye when he voices out,

“Fuck them.”

I can’t help but let out a little snort at my boyfriend’s abrupt answer. He laughs along a little before sputtering out, “I’m serious! If they can’t see how amazing and hardworking you are, then fuck them. Seriously babe. You are the smartest and most beautiful woman I have ever met, and you do not deserve to be treated like that and have your talent be wasted away in that hellhole.”

I rest my head on Jujhar’s shoulder and question out, “So, what do I do?”

“Quit.”

That gains my attention, and my head snaps right back up to give my boyfriend wide eyes. “I can’t just quit.” I gaped.

“Why not? The work environment is so toxic and you hate it there. And you said it yourself that you feel like your talent and hardwork is being undermined. So why not quit and we can find a place that will suit and better appreciate you.” He says it so calmly and determinedly that it actually makes me think that I should just go for it.

“What if I can’t find another job quickly?” I worry. I don’t want him to think that I am going to become dependable on him and take advantage of his hard worked for money.

He gives me a little smile, seemingly knowing what I am thinking. “Babe you do not have to worry about that. I want you to take your time in finding the job that you think will best suit you. No matter what, I am going to be right here by your side.”

Once more, tears threaten to spill from my eyes. But this time they are tears of happiness and admiration for the man sitting in front of me.

“You know I love you right?”

Jujhar just smiles in return and leans in closer to bring our lips together. The kiss is sweet and gentle, just like the moment we just shared. It lets him know just how grateful I am for his kind words and having someone like him in my life. Jujhar always knows exactly what to say to make me feel better and get my emotions back on track.

When our lips break apart, I rest my forehead on his to keep in close proximity, while also knowing there are no other words that need to be spoken at this moment.

It’s definitely a scary thought to quit that job that I have stuck with for the past two years and start moving onto new things. But these new things are going to hopefully be bigger and better and will work out to be more beneficial for the future. And knowing that I am going to have Jujhar right here by my side the entire time makes it all seem a little less scary.

“I love you too.” Jujhar whispers out, our foreheads still resting against each other.

I take one ast deep breath before putting some distance between our bodies. I give him a giant grin and mused, “Let’s do this.”

taglist: @heatherawoowoo @barzysandmarnersbitch @joelsfarabees @barzy-xoxo @hockeyplayerstories @handwrittenheroes

tagging some mutuals as well,,, @bb-nhlqueen7 @frederikanderson @carepriceisgoodathockey @lovereadinghockeyy @prettyboycozens @prettyboyjackhughes @2manytabsopen @joekellys @jamiesdrysdales

[p-artsypants]

I’ll Handle This (4)

In Which Gabriel and Plagg Argue

“I’ll solve all your problems,” Plagg had said. “You just have to agree to it.” A fixed relationship with his father, Lila to stop bothering him, and Ladybug to fall in love with him? Who wouldn’t agree to that?

Except Plagg was the God of Destruction and Chaos and had a more…hands-on approach. Adrien just wants his body back.

Ao3 | FF.net

After the shopping trip, the teens walked back to the school together, and then separated. 

“Ugh, walking is exhausting.” Plagg groaned. 

“You’re using my muscles, you know.” Adrien spoke, poking out of the pocket. “I don’t usually walk this much, since my bodyguard drives me everywhere.” 

“Well, then I’m sure this is good for you.” Plagg stomped in big steps. “But I haven’t used legs since the last time I switched with a wielder, so I get to complain.” 

“I think by that logic, you don’t get to complain, because you usually get to float. And not going to lie…it’s pretty sweet.” 

“Just wait until you start floating in your sleep, and then you phase through the ceiling and then keep going and end up in space.” 

Adrien froze, staring up at his own face from the pocket. “That can happen?” 

“Oh yes. Good luck sleeping tonight!”

Not too much longer, Plagg arrived back at the Agreste manor. 

He could feel Adrien shaking in his pocket. “What’s up, Bub?” 

“My father is going to be waiting for you. I just know it. He’s going to yell and threaten to pull you out of school—“ 

“What, like he did this morning? Relax. There’s plenty of windows in the mansion.” 

But Adrien came spiraling out of the shirt to look Plagg in the eyes. “But I don’t want you to break anymore windows! I don’t want you to make my father angry anymore! You’re hurting him!” 

Plagg gave him a hard look. “Is that what you think, Adrien? That your disobedience hurts him?” 

“Why else would he be mean? He loves me...” 

Plagg reached up and scratched his ears. “Of course he does, kid. But...sometimes, in people like your dad, love isn’t the strongest motivator. I know it is with you. Love is about the only thing that controls you. Your love for your friends, for your family, your city, for Ladybug...that all drives your decisions.” 

Adrien was quiet as he agreed. 

“But for people like your father, they’re driven by power. They base decisions on what will make them look good and get more respect. He does love you, Adrien, but he wants your unconditional loyalty. He doesn’t want you to question him, or to disagree with him, because you’re his son. He made you, and you’re half of him. So if anyone is to be completely submitted to his will, it’s you.” 

Adrien frowned. “I don’t believe that. I think...I think he’s just scared. Of losing me, that is. Like we lost mom. So he keeps me restricted.” 

“But he’s always treated you like this, even before you lost your mom.” 

Adrien had no argument to that, and just slowly lowered himself into Plagg’s hands. 

“Just think about it. I’ll do all the talking, you just listen and see.” 

“Okay.” 

Plagg tucked him back into the pocket, before approaching the gate and ringing the doorbell. 

The camera didn’t even come out, the gate just opened. 

It felt like walking into a hell mouth. 

Inside, Gabriel stood at the bottom of the stairs, with his arms crossed. Next to him, Nathalie stood with her own arms crossed. And next to her stood Lila, with her arms also crossed. 

Plagg couldn’t help but snicker. They looked like three Russian puzzle dolls. Would Lila pop open and show another smaller, angrier creature? 

“What’s so funny?” Demanded Gabriel. “Where have you been?” 

“Chill man, I was out with my friends.” 

“And spending my money?” 

“You literally let me spend whatever money I want. I just usually never have anything I want to buy. I treat my friends to a nice lunch and it’s the end of the world?”

Gabriel sniffed, “you obviously can’t see that your so-called ‘friends’ are only hanging around you because of our wealth. I disprove of the company you keep, especially Mr. Lahiffe—“ 

“Why?” 

“You don’t get to question my authority.” 

“I’m just honestly curious as to why you don’t like them. I don’t buy stuff for my friends, despite what you think. Nino is a really good friend and a nice person. He doesn’t get in trouble, and his grades are pretty good. So what’s up?” 

“I simply don’t care for his plebeian attitude.” 

Plagg scoffed. “Plebeian?! Excuse me, what century is this again? Are we nobles or something I didn’t know about?” He pitched his voice high to have a ‘proper’ voice. “Oh yes Martha, we shan’t have our child run around with the rift raft in the fields. He must get a proper education so he may marry his cousin, have a child with three eyes, and die at the ripe old age at 26!” 

“Adrien!” Gabriel yelled. “How dare you mock me!” 

“Then stop talking like a 17th century noble! We have money, but high society never did anyone favors! You just sound like an old idiot! An old, out of touch, insensitive idiot!” Then he pointed at Lila. “And if you want to talk about people taking advantage of us, why don’t you turn yourself 90 degrees that-a-way to grill this blood sucking parasite.” 

“On the contrary,” Gabriel interrupted. “Miss Rossi only has your best interests at heart, which is why she came here and told me all about your little charade you put on during school today. You assaulted your bodyguard!” 

“He’s fine.” 

“Whether or not he’s fine is beside the point, Adrien. I hired him to protect you, and you attack him?” 

“He wasn’t protecting me. He was trying to kidnap me! I wanted to be at school!” 

“Well naughty children don’t get to do what they want to do!” 

“Do you want me to be happy or stupid?!” 

“No! Wait—“ 

“Ah ha!” Plagg pointed. “You just want me to be miserable!”

Gabriel flared his nostrils. “Stop trying to twist my words. The fact remains that you have been completely out of control these last few days, and I have no choice but to discipline you accordingly. From now on, you will have no contact with these teenagers that are encouraging you to behave like this monster. Instead, you will only be allowed to interact with Miss Rossi at photo shoots.” 

Plagg saw the corner of the man’s mouth curve up. Check mate, the gesture said. 

Time to take it up a notch.  

“I’m not sure the best way to handle this situation, so I’ll handle it the way Chloe would.” He laid down on the floor and began to kick and scream. “DADDY! DADDY I HATE HER! FIRE HER AT ONCE!!” 

“If you don’t stop this tantrum this instant, you’re being pulled out of school.” 

“Ha!” He laughed, still from the floor. “I’ll just reenroll! I broke one window getting out the first time, there’s not a lock in this earth that can hold me, old man.” 

“Adrien, go to your room.” 

“Make me.” 

“You’re angering me, and you won’t like me when I’m angry.” 

“I don’t like you now.” 

“This attitude of yours is disrespectful, disgusting, immature, and embarrassing. I raised you better than—“ 

“Are you done?” Plagg asked, scratching his ear. “Because you just keep talking. That’s all you do. This gaslighting is getting really old. I know I’m acting immature, that’s the whole thing. Pointing it out just makes you look stupid. Are you going to hit me or something?” 

“I’m not going to hit you, Adrien.” 

“Huh. Didn’t know you had it in you.” 

Gabriel frowned. “You really think I would hit you?” 

“You’ve already hit emotional and verbal abuse, I assumed that was the next step.” 

“I am not abusive! I am strict, but I only have your best interests at heart.” 

“Right, like making me schmooze with Miss Sausage Hair here?” 

“Hey!” Lila cried. 

“Oh shut up, you’re plenty at fault here too.” 

“That’s it. Adrien, you’re grounded. No phone, no computer, no tv, no video games, and no school.” 

“So you want me to just sit in my room and stare out the window? Or are you going to board those up too?” 

“There’s plenty of books for you to read. Books that will hopefully change your mind about this rebellious streak.” 

“Until when?” 

“Until I say so!” 

“Cool. I quit modeling.” 

“WHAT!?” 

“You heard me. I quit modeling. Or you can fire Lila and unground me. Your choice, Gabe.”

Gabriel ground his teeth as Lila just stood there in shock. 

“I’ll give you some time to think about it.” Plagg cracked his neck. “I’ve got homework to do.” 

“But—“ 

“Ah ah ah,” Plagg held up a hand. “Talk to the hand, cause the face ain’t listening.” He skipped up the stairs, and out of the lobby. 

Gabriel simmered in rage, feeling the control which had been so firmly in his hands slip away. 

“Mr. Agreste—“ Lila began. 

“No.” He interrupted. “I need some time to think. Keep your eye on Adrien and let me know exactly what he’s up to, who he’s with, what he’s doing. You do this, and I will reward you greatly.” 

“Of course, Mr. Agreste.” 

—

As soon as Plagg closed the bedroom door, Adrien spiraled out of his pocket. 

“Hey kid, I know that was rough...” 

“Rough?! No kidding! You’re a monster! How could you talk to my father like that!? How could you insinuate that he would hit me? And you got me grounded and pulled from school! You quit modeling!” 

“Honestly Adrien, I thought he might hit me. His anger reflects violence. You see it too.” 

Adrien rubbed his paws over his cheeks, trying to stop the tears. 

“Come on kid, it’s for the best.” And he reached out for him. 

But Adrien darted away. “I’m going to see Tikki! I need comfort from someone that’s not trying to ruin my life!” 

Before Plagg could protest, Adrien had flitted out the window and into the streets. 

The sun was setting, and traffic was dwindling, as working folks made their way home. 

Finding Marinette’s house was a matter of finding the school, and then going from there, while sticking to the shadows and staying high enough away from straying eyes. 

When he reached her balcony, he loitered at the window, trying to figure out how to phase in. Then he wondered if he should even bother. Tikki might scold him for leaving Plagg. Or maybe she’d laugh at him for being upset. She was millennia old too. His problems probably would sound trivial to her as well.

Eventually, he just knocked. 

Marinette answered, a grave look on her face. “Plagg? What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Is Chat okay?” 

“He’s fine.” Adrien sniffed. “Can I talk to Tikki please?” 

Shocked by his politeness and shy demeanor, she blinked twice and answered, “Uh, sure.” 

Tikki appeared then, looking at him with concerned eyes. 

“I’ll just leave you two alone then,” Marinette stated, closing the window. 

“Adrien? What’s wrong?” 

It all came out of him then. “He’s a monster!” Adrien blubbered. “He’s ruining everything and making it all worse! I don’t know how to stop him! But my father is done with me and is going to pull me out of school! Plagg keeps acting like it’s no big deal, but he doesn’t understand! He’s just treating this like a big game!”

To his relief, Tikki hugged him tightly. “Oh Adrien. Plagg means well, I promise. His methods don’t make much sense, but they do produce results. It’ll be alright.” 

Adrien just sniffed, taking comfort from the hug. “I feel so helpless. I can’t do anything without outing myself as Chat Noir, and that’s the last thing I need...unless Plagg beats me to it. I know everyone is suspicious of him. This is a nightmare.” 

“I’ll talk to him when I get a chance,” promised Tikki. “He does mean well, I promise. But this is your life, and making you watch him work is torture.” 

“Exactly! Tikki you understand! If he does pull this off, I will thank him, but like...what if it doesn’t work? He acts like humans are so predictable and easy to manipulate, but even with all his life and experiences, he can’t account for everything. I’m worried he’s being too cocky.” 

Tikki petted his head. “Plagg can get over his head sometimes. He’s lazy and stubborn, but that just makes him ridiculously creative. Some of his attempts may fail, but I really think you just have to trust that he’s in control.” 

“I know, I know, and in my head, I know he’s doing this for me. I know he doesn’t want to be in my body, and I know he’s crazy smart…but I feel…betrayed? Scared? I don’t know what I’m feeling.” 

“Unstable.” Tikki provided. “Because you have no control over your life.” 

He frowned, holding onto his tail. 

“But, from what Plagg has told me, you didn’t have much control of it before either.” 

He rubbed a paw against his cheek. “Sadly, no. I didn’t.” 

The trap door opened again, and Marinette peeked her head out. She placed a plate with a cheese danish on it on the ground nearby. “Anything I can do?” 

Tikki answered for him, only slightly lying, “sometimes Plagg gets emotional when he thinks about past holders that we lost tragically. He said Chat was busy and he didn’t want to bother him.” 

“Oh Plagg, I’m so sorry.” 

Adrien rubbed his eyes with his paws again. He may not be in his body, but he did feel a little embarrassed to be crying in front of his crush. 

“Say Marinette, now that you’re the guardian, it would be really helpful if you could comfort him.” 

“Me? I...I guess. What do I do?”

“Just do what feels right.” 

Adrien floated a little closer to her, desperate for her affection, but hesitant to take it for himself. 

She cupped him in her hands, cradling him, holding him, cocooning him with her skin. She brought him up to her face, leaving a lingering kiss right between his ears, then caressed him to her cheek, her fingers encircling him in a hug. 

A stray finger itched the back of his head, sending tingles all the way down to his tail and making him purr. 

This was heavenly. Her scent surrounded him, dulling his senses and calming his tears. 

“It’s okay.” She said softly. “It’s alright to be sad. Things will get better.” 

Her words soothed the day's pain, and he really did feel more optimistic. He could do anything with Ladybug’s support. 

Finally, he pressed a little kiss to her cheek and allowed her to pull away. “Thank you Marinette. I do feel a lot better now.” 

Her smile was so warm and so wonderful, he could stare at her all day. 

But an Akuma alert had to go and ruin the whole thing. 

“You better get back to Chat! If you need more comfort, come back tonight after patrol!” 

“Thanks Marinette! Save that Danish for me!” And he rushed off back to the mansion.