#((if it means he gets to spend a little time with her; helping her; even making sure she's alright!))

[nezuscribe]

Arranged Marriage! Gojo who introduces you to Lady Shoko, with the hopes that you two would become friends.

Shoko who does just that and becomes a close personal friend of yours. She takes you shopping in the local town, gossips with you over tea and strolls around the estate with you (concealing a laughing when you run into Arranged Marriage! Gojo who tries to steal a little more of your attention back while he’s sparring. )

Arranged Marriage! Gojo who’s eating his own words wishing he could take back introducing you to Shoko, but one look at your happy face while Shoko helps you get dolled up for the evening and he’s thinking it’s not going to kill him to share the smallest fraction of time that could’ve been spent with him instead.

(He very much approves of the dresses Shoko has picked out, thinks they compliment you so well. He’s shoving a little extra gold in your pouch without you knowing for the next time you join Shoko in the shopping districts)

ugh yes for sure i see arranged!gojo doing this

he tells you about one of his old friends, shoko, and how he knows the two of you would get along well. he's seen you alone if not with him, and he knows you need a friend, even if you don't say it, so he invites shoko to spend some time at the estate

you're tentative at first. she seems cold and serious but melts to you very quickly, instantly realizing why gojo fell in love with you. so she makes haste with teaching you all the things you should've known earlier, taking you on day trips to the town nearby, and helping you get a new wardrobe.

she giggles behind her hand whenever the two of you run into gojo, sees how he slightly puffs his chest out for you, hoping you notice his muscles. you're literally none the wiser, pointing out a food stain on his tunic.

she becomes the friend you never had, and it's such a simple force that gojo tries not to feel jealous over it, knows you need this more than anything.

that doesn't mean he doesn't pout when you stop coming around for training, and it just means that he has to show off even more when you do.

[pinejayy]

╰➤ Lady Time

paring: nami x f!strawhat reader x robin

summary: it’s a peaceful day for the strawhat pirates, and sanji decides to make the crew a huge meal. while the crew is eating their meal the girls are having their own fun.

warning: threesome, teasing, dirty talking,, making out, nipple play, fingering (for you and nami) ,, masturbation (robin’s part) ,, oral (robin receiving) ,, sanji at the end walking in (getting a bloody nose)

✦•·················• 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐀𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃!! •·················•✦

Finally a peaceful day for the Strawhat Pirates, it seemed like ages since they’ve gotten a peaceful day. So Sanji decided to make the crew a special meal, all the sweet treats and meats you could think about. Luffy was the most excited one, he was constantly on top of Sanji, demanding for food.

“FOOD! I WANT FOOD! YOUR CAPTAIN DEMANDS FOOD!” Luffy yelled at Sanji and the poor cook was getting annoyed. “Calm down Luffy! You have to wait like the rest of the crew!”

There yelling was heard across the Sunny, and you and girls were relaxing and sun bathing on the deck. “Hmm the Captain seems very excited for the meal Sanji is preparing.” Robin spoke up, which both of Nami and You looked at her.

Nami couldn’t help but scoff. “Yeah! That idiot is ruining our peace and quiet. I would prefer to relax in our room. Since someone where is yelling like an idiot!”

And you couldn’t help but nod in agreement. “Yeah..it’s hard relaxing while both of them are yelling.” You say and look at both ladies and nod. “Yeah let’s go relax somewhere more private.”

And with that all three of you stood up and followed each other to the girls cabin. And once you guys made it to the room you lay on the bed and sigh, and Nami laid besides you. Which left Robin standing there, watching both of you. You really were enjoying yourself in the sun, the one time you guys were able to relax Luffy was of course yelling and was making it hard to fully relax. But at least you can spend some quality girl time with Robin and Nami.

In reality you ha didn’t notice how tense you were until Robin pointed it out. “Hey, are you feeling okay Y/N? You seem really tense?” She said and sat besides you. And she eyed both you and Nami.

“Yeah, it’s been weeks since we’ve gotten a day to ourselves. You know with the constant battles and also Marines up our asses. I’m just a little worked up…” You say, rubbing your eyes. “I could use a release..”

“Yeah tell me about it! I could use one too!” Nami chimed in.

This quickly caught Robins attention and she couldn’t help but smirk slightly. “You know there’s a good way to help each other out…it seems like we all need a good release. And let’s be honest we don’t know when is the next time we’ll have time for something like this. Or the next time we’ll have a peaceful moment to ourselves.”

“What are you talking about Robin?” Nami spoke up and she opens her eyes and she eyed her. “Are you implying we sleep with one of the guys? Because I’m not doing that! That’s gross!!”

“Oh, no! Of course not. And as I said. There’s a good way to help each other out.”

“I still don’t get it.” You say. And Robin couldn’t help chuckle slightly and she walked towards the bed and she sat on the edge. "Why don’t I show you instead.”

And before you could even reply, two slim arms appeared between your legs. Your cheeks turn slightly red as her actions. “I mean like this, let’s be honest ladies. We’re all ladies here, so we’ll know each other’s bodies best and know what we want exactly.” She said, and you couldn’t help but mentally agree with her. But still, these two were your best friends. Sleeping with them would just make things complicated.

“So you’re suggesting a threesome?” Nami spoke up before you could. And Robin nodded. “Indeed.”

“Well…you are right…” Nami sighed out, seemingly thinking to herself. “And this wouldn’t affect our friendship?” To which Robin shook her head. “No, in fact it might bring us closer.”

To which you sigh in relief, that’s the last thing you wanted. A ruined friendship. “I’m in, only if you two agree.”

“Heh..I was the one who suggested the idea, so Nami?” Robin chuckles and eyes the red head. And Nami pouts slightly and she nods. “Yes..I need it.”

Robin wasted no time, she leans in and captures your lips against hers. Both Robin and you shared a deep kiss, you couldn’t help but against her lips and she wasted no time to slide her tongue between your lips and in your mouth. Exploring new territory, while the two arms were still holding your legs apart. Both lips moving against each other, the prefect pace.

As you guys were deep into the kiss, Nami couldn’t help but grope her chest through her bikini. Sighing softly at the sight.

After what seemed forever she finally pulled away from your lips, panting slightly. Nipping your bottom lip before smirking at your reaction. “You know, I’m quite fond of your blush, I’m wondering what else makes you blush.”

You didn’t realize you were blushing until she told you. Making you grumble. And the two arms that were around your legs disappeared.

“Okay my turn. Thank you very much.” Nami said and she sat in front of you and she wasted no time. Grabbing your face and her lips came crashing against yours. Taking your mouth to a heated kiss. Nami licks your bottom lip, asking for permission. And you opened your mouth. Granting her access, and she slides her tongue in and explores the most inside of your mouth. Both tongues fighting for dominance.

Robin watched both of you. A hint of mischief in her eyes. “What a sight. Beautiful sight.” She chuckles, and both of you and Nami pull away. A red tint across your guys faces. “But how about I make things a little more interesting, Nami would you please lay besides Y/N.”

Nami huffs and laid besides you, and arms sprouted against your body and Nami’s. The arms quickly began to peal off the swim wears you guys had on. You weren’t ashamed of your body or embarrassed by it. Considering you’ve guys have seen each other naked before.

So both of you guys were laying there naked, arms around your guys body. The arms slowly and gently roamed around your guys bodies. And you couldn’t help but relax slightly.

The arms kept roaming around. Feeling every curve you guys had, squeezing your guys boobs. Making you both moan at the touch. And Robin couldn’t help but smirk to herself, she was slowly stripping off her swimwear as well, watching as the arms were feeling your guys bodies. Both so different and both so beautiful.

“Come on ladies, open those beautiful legs of yours. I’m sure my hands will give you a lovely treat.”

And both of you wasted no time, spreading your legs. Exposing yourself to Robin. “Wow, already so wet. Both of you.” She giggled slightly, and she licks her lips. Her hands running across her own body, playing with her own nipples.

The hands that were across your body and Nami’s body were now in your guys inner thighs. Both of you were needy. And fingers slowly trace against your inner thighs.

Both moaning at her touch. “I must say your devil fruit is quite useful.”

Robin smirks as she continues to play with her own nipples. And without warning there was a finger rubbing your clit, slow and steady movements. The prefect pace…Making you bite your lip. Holding back your moan.

“Oh…that’s prefect…” You moan softly… and you heard Nami’s soft moans too, seems like her clit was getting the same treatment as yours.

“You tell me…the past guys I’ve had are terrible at finding the clit..” Nami spoke up. She moans softly, the fingers kept moving in small circles against her clit.

Which made Robin laugh slightly. “Hm. I’m aware and if they do find it. They don’t know what to do with it.”

You couldn’t help but giggle through your moans. The finger kept moving against your clit. “Mmm…ah…yeah…and if they do find it. They think that going fast and hard is good..”

Robin fingers kept the prefect pace against your guys clits, and she couldn’t help moan feel the heat between her legs grow more at the slight. The way you were moaning. And Robin slowly brings her finger to lips and gives her middle finger a long and slow lick before rubbing her own clit. Moaning under her breath. Rubbing the sensitive bundle of nerves sent a shiver down her spine.

The room was filled with soft moans and whimpers.

“Oh…Robin…” You whimper softly, feeling your stomach tighten up. “I’m so close..” “Me too…it feels so good..”

And suddenly the fingers and arms that were around your body and Nami’s disappeared making you both groan. Before any of you could speak up Robin spoke up. “Please…finish each other off…I need to see it.” She moans out, rubbing her clit faster. Too lost in her own pleasure.

Both you and Nami looked at each other and were immediately In each other’s arms. In a deep kiss, tongues fighting for dominance. Nami’s hands were all over your body, feelings your curves. Giving your boobs a harsh squeeze. Her fingers made their way to your wetness between your thighs. She wasted no time, inserting two fingers inside of you. Moving them slowly , making you moan against her lips. “Nami…”

“That’s right…keep moaning my name.. please..” She practically begged out. Moving her fingers in and out. And before she could speak up again your hands were between her legs..also inserting two fingers inside of her. Feeling her walls clench around your fingers. “God…feels so good…”

Both of you were lost in your own pleasure that Robin was watching both of you. Watching both of your guys tongues wrap around each other, the way you guys were fingering each other. It was a beautiful slight.

Robin moans softly, rubbing her own clit while she pinches her own nipples.

Moaning against Nami’s lips, you pulled away to catch your own breath. And she was panting slightly. A blush spread across her face. You pick up the pace with your fingers and Nami quickly copied your pace.

Both moaning “Fuck…”

This went on for awhile, and Nami was hitting every spot you craved for…you felt her walls clench around your fingers and you gasp. Picking up the pace, and curling your fingers. Hitting her G-Spot. She quickly covers her mouth to prevent herself from being loud. And after a few minutes she was a moaning mess against her own hand. Gushing all over your fingers, giving her a few more thrusts before pulling your fingers out and bringing them against your own lips. Sucking on her sweet juices. “Mmm so good…”

And Nami smirks, and her fingers were still inside of you and her pace picked up, making a scissoring motion inside of you. Curling her fingers to hit your G-Spot. And she kept abusing that prefect spot making you reach your own climax. And she hums softly and slowly she pulls her fingers out and licks off the juices. “Mm even better.”

Both of you were catching your breath and a soft moan caught your attention, both you and Nami turn to Robin and she was lost in her own thoughts…she was watching both of you as was fingering herself. She had her head thrown back, moaning at her own touch. You and Nami look at each other and smirk.

You guys move towards Robin, she really seemed lost in her own pleasure that she didn’t notice either of you. And with a quick motion Nami quickly pinned her shoulders down against the bed. Making her gasp out. “Nami…” She mumbled softly, and Nami quickly kissed her. Robin couldn’t help but moan into the kiss. Getting lost into the kiss. While you couldn’t help but lick your lips. Making your way down to her thighs, spreading her legs open, exposing her pussy to you.

You couldn’t help but place small kisses against her inner thighs, making her moan against Nami’s lips. Your tongue tracing small circles against her skin and close to her sensitive area.

Leaning in, giving a small lick across her folds. Tasting her, moaning softly. “Mm Robin…can’t wait to eat your pretty pussy.”

Before fully diving into her folds, and eating her out as if it was your last meal. And Robin was a moaning and whimpering mess against Nami’s lips. While Nami was sharing a deep kiss with her she pulls away to look at her, before leaning in towards her neck. Placing sloppy kisses against her neck. Nami’s fingers found their way to Robin’s nipples and gave them a pinch, playing with them.

As both Nami and Robin were deep in their moment, you were lost in your own world. Your mouth moving against her pussy, taking in all her juices she was leaking out. Pulling away slightly, placing small love bites across her inner thighs. Making her moan.

Looking at her pussy, you couldn’t help but spread her folds slightly and lean in to blow slightly on her clit making her shiver. “Mm seems like you’re enjoying yourself.”

To which she just moan softly, making you giggle. Before taking her clit between your lips and sucking on it gently.

The room was filled with moans from all three of you, and after awhile Robins moans had gotten louder which meant she was close to you bring a finger to her clit and rub circles and your mouth moves her to needy hole and you couldn’t help but get a better taste at her. Shoving your tongue in her hole, and with the sensation of your tongue against her and your finger was making her legs shaking in pleasure.

And suddenly she moans loudly, to which Nami quickly covered her mouth with her hand. “Shh they might hear us.” She teased softly. Kissing her earlobe.

Robin reached her climax and she was a panting mess, you moan at her taste. Licking up all her juices, sitting up and licking your lips as you watch both woman.

“Hey I wanna have a taste too.” Nami said and she grabs your face and smashes her lips against yours. Her tongue already sliding into your mouth.

And Robin quickly sat besides you guys and she spoke up. “I wouldn’t be opposed to taste myself as well.” She said and scoots in. And all three of you shared a three way kiss, all three tongues tasting each other. You guys were so lost into the kiss that you didn’t hear the door knock.

“Hey! Ladies! Are you guys okay? The food is ready! You guys aren’t answering the DOOR!!!”

That snapped all three of you guys into reality, pulling away from the kiss. And your guys eye landed on Sanji..

Sanji stood there, he was knocking before walking in and he wasn’t expecting to see all three of you naked! AND ESPECIALLY HAVING A MAKEOUT SESSION! He couldn’t help but breath heavy. And suddenly his nose started to bleed…like there was no tomorrow.

Making Nami groan “Oh! Great you ruined our fun you creep!” She yelled out and Sanji was a giggling mess and Nami walks towards him and she shoves him out of the room. And he fell backwards onto the floor and he was a blushing and bloody mess, before slamming the door. “Oh…My…ladies…” He giggles.

You shake your head. “So should we change.” And Robin nodded. “It seems like the best idea, I suggest we lock the door for the next time.”

And both you and Nami nodded “Sounds like a good idea.”

Getting all dressed up, you guys heard the rest of the crews voices behind the door.

“SANJI I WANT FOOD NOW! GET UP! I’M HUNGRY!Luffy yelled out.

“OMG SANJI WHAT HAPPENED! YOU’RE BLEEDING ALOT!” Chopper cried out.

“Sanji what did you?! Did you see panties! Tell me! What color were they?’” Brook said.

While Sanji was giggling and bleeding on the floor, while the three of you guys were giggling behind the door.

tagging: @genderless-naper ,, @oatmealmika ,, @purplegemadventures // sorry about the long wait!! hope you guys enjoy!! uwu

[pix-writes]

I just watched Pride&Prejudice and I cannot stop thinking about love confessions, how would the Grunkles confess their feelings? I imagine Mabel wanting so bad to do a sort of kiss the girl situation with a boat and romantic music lmao

I find it difficult to say exactly how they would both confess their feelings, just because I think it really depends on the relationship and certain circumstances to be honest?

But, yeah! I definitely think Mabel would want to intervene (and therefore rope Dipper into helping her), using her adorable powers for good intentions, but ultimately perhaps is a little more niave than she realises when it comes to trying to set adults up with each other lol ^_^' I love Mabel, her heart is in exactly the right place (so I forgive her immediately), but she is a 13-ish year old girl! Setting people up in such cliche/obvious scenarios could very likely go wrong, and by wrong I mean her efforts may not have the outcomes she expects! (btw I'm not saying it would backfire terribly, but it might deter some suitors if just from sheer awkwardness)

To be honest and fair to her, she is right these grumpy grunkles DO need pushing in the right direction✨towards you, beautiful reader! ✨especially in the initial stages, she will definitely be encouraging them to talk to you, get them to try to open up and talk with you about what interests you might have and maybe share, so they (she) can know if they're the right match for them. She's their biggest cheerleader and supporter and she'll have bragging rights at your eventual wedding because of course she knew you were right for each other! Mabel simply loves love! (more under cut)

Realistically though, I think after the events surrounding the Love God and the Stans' lives after the series ends, I think Mabel will be just a tad less chaotic/intense with her matchmaker tendencies and in turn the grunkles may brush her off (gently) from any big, romatic set-ups. They certianly don't need their grand-niece to orchestrate getting somebody's number or asking someone on a date! Anyways, romance is complicated and the grunkles have too much baggage to want to launch into something so suddenly.

Though they will cave in under some of her advice/encouragements to spend time with you, however that may be (like I said, they both have a track record of being a bit hopeless lol). And she is a good source of some creative date ideas, too.

I think Stan would most likely want to make more of his confession, make it on a date night where you go to some nice restaurant by the sea or something, but either he backs out of it for some reason or another and feels like he's floundering, he just needs to tell you, what's scary about that? (ah, the fear of rejection, we all know it!) Instead, it ends up slipping out of his mouth in a more mundane setting. Like maybe you're both on the porch, you come back with a drink, not just for yourself but for him too, or you've come round to help him because both of the kids got the flu and he needs someone to go to the store, or he's helping you unpack your groceries, or you're just talking shit and joking with each other one evening on the stan o war II - and he comes out with it causally, hardly thinking, "I love you, you know?" or "Thanks, sweetheart. Love ya." and then once he realises what he's said it's like the moment has been shattered. He hasn't moved but he's panicking internally and trying to get his brain to catch up to his goddamn mouth to say something else - and then! You accept it. You say you love him too and he'll feel the relief of it once he's gone through another few minutes or so of disbelief that you love him back! haha ;w;

That doesn't mean he couldn't do the big confession, in fact, I think he'd give it his best shot, he can be romantic and he has watched a lot of period dramas and they seem silly to him in reality but shouldn't he try to do that for you? But it's in a very Stan way 😅 It's very sweet of him to make a lovey speech on your anniversary, even if he messed it up near the end and gave up on what he was trying to say. The fact that he loses some of his smooth composure in front of you just shows you how important you are to him, so its still effective. Oh, and he takes you out dancing too! Actions can be just a effective as words in this case ;) Stanley is here to sweep you off your feet one way or another and he damn well knows how to give you a fun night out (Now shush and make out with me in the stanmobile, handsome!)

Ford would likely be a little the same, just different in approach. I think he'd like to make his confession privately, even if you're on a date, he wants it to feel like its between you both. He feels those three words in his throat like its stuck there all the time, it crops up in those little moments, he's watching you tidy up the lab or putting a blanket over stan and the kids who have fallen asleep on the boat, or in the morning when you're both in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to be done and he's marvelling at the wonder and beauty that is you in the early sunrise and how you seemed to love him, something he never expected to happen - but he feels like he can't say it, he wants so badly to say it, but he doesn't know how to just 'bring it up' and then the moment passes. Until the next one. Then he starts getting frustrated with himself, why can't he simply get the words out? What if you don't really like him as he has begun to believe and you reject him? Why must he hold himself in this limbo? He needs to move forwards!

But he doesn't know how to bring it up, he's created speeches in his head or written his confession down, he scoffs at himself for acting like some lovesick teenager when he discards draft number 11 and goes to put it into the shredder (so no one can come across it accidentally and read it). I feel like it could go a lot of ways, perhaps you indicate, not too overtly or too subtly, some hint towards your love for him on a date and it gives him the push he needs to finally say it. In this instance, he tries his best to do a small speech about his love for you, stuttering a little as he confesses, because he sees how you're looking at him and it's making his heart beat faster because, oh wow, you love him too! Maybe he doesn't finish because you can't take it any longer and give him a smooch. yay! ^-^

Or in one of those small everyday moments he bites the bullet and confesses. Or maybe you're going out on one of your shared adventures and he stops you for a moment to blurt it out, unable to contain it because he wants you to know why he's so protective over you before you go any further.

"I love you, (name). I think I've loved you for some time now, and I hope you do too? I just... didn't know how to say it, before."

[gyeomsweetgyeom]

[8:09 pm]

(cw: f!reader)

The car rumbled down the street, a cold silence filled the car. You started out the passenger window while husband!Renjun looked at you from the corner of his eye.

It had been a rough afternoon for the two of you. Renjun failed to tell you about a huge gala he had for work that night even though you had already both agreed to celebrate your wedding anniversary tonight. Your anniversary celebration that had already rescheduled since Renjun would be out of town. You knew this wasn’t his fault exactly, he couldn’t control when he had to leave for work but the idea of spending your first wedding anniversary alone didn’t feel nice.

The gala though, that was his fault entirely. He swore he told you but there were no texts, emails, and nothing in the calendar you both kept up to date. Not to mention that he had told you it was black tie with only 3 hours until he had to be there.

You had wasted half an hour of that time arguing, another hour and a half getting ready and the last hour walking around department stores and boutiques looking for a dress that fit the dress code. And Renjun had been a major pain in your ass the entire time!

He would excitedly tell you found something and when you turned he would be holding a bright, gaudy dress with entirely too many ruffles. He did that countless times and each time you fell for it. You were already annoyed that he had waited until the last second, annoyed that the reservations you had planned were now useless, and annoyed that you had to spend your honorary wedding anniversary shmoozing Renjun’s coworkers.

He tried to make you laugh, tried to compliment you, talk to you like everything was ok but you wouldn’t budge! He sighed, fingers tapping at the steering wheel nervously, “you really do look beautiful. That dress fits you perfectly.”

You huffed like a grumpy child, “no, it doesn’t. It’s too long and the chest is too big.”

“Well, I can’t tell, you look gorgeous.”

“Another thing you don’t pay attention to,” you murmur under your breath.

Renjun sighs, pulling into the front of the venue and sliding out of the car to give the keys to the valet. The valet gets to your door before he can, but he can feel his nerves calm when you hook your arm through his. He tried to help you fix the skirt of your dress but you swatted his hands away.

He groaned under his breath, fine, if you wanted to be petty, he could be even more petty. He knew he messed up, but geez woman! How many time were you going to make him apologize?!

He straightened out his bow tie and entered the venue with you on his arm. He smiled at one of his bosses and walked over, “Mr. Lim! So good to see you again! I don’t know if you remember but this is my darling wife.” His hand squeezed your waist as he drawled out the word “darling.” You smiled and introduced yourself to the older man, standing by as the ever interested wife as they both made small talk.

Every introduction that followed was the same. You were Renjun’s beloved wife, his dear wife, his sweet wife, the wife he adored and with every introduction you felt the genuine disappointment from earlier melt into mild, playful annoyance.

After Renjun had had enough of introductions and led the two of you to your seats you finally took the bait. “I know what you’re doing Mr. Huang, just because you describe me with all these cute little adjectives doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.”

Renjun hides a smile from behind the rim of his glass, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh! This is my precious wife who I love with my whole heart and soul, do you remember her?” You mimic in a low growl.

Renjun laughs brightly, “I don’t sound like that! And I didn’t gush about you like that.”

“You basically did. Now everyone here knows who wears the pants in this marriage.”

Renjun grabs your hands and waits for you to look at him. When you do you find his gaze soft and apologetic, “I really am sorry. It completely slipped my mind and in the future I will absolutely stay on top of keeping you informed. Can you find it in that big, beautiful heart of yours to forgive me?”

You fiddled with the wedding band on his ring finger, “I’m more annoyed that you kept pulling hideous dresses when we didn’t have a lot of time to get here.”

“I will never, and I mean never, give you fake fashion advice again.”

“Well, I’m sorry for throwing a fit about it too. I accept your apology, my favorite husband.”

“Hey! I’m your only husband. Forever.”

[writing-until-i-drop]

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 20

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Jake comes clean and Daisy has to talk to Penny

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

I managed to make it until we were back at my apartment before I broke. Tasha was spending the night at Javy’s place, which meant it was just the two of us and after a  few hours of thinking up the worst possible scenarios for what Jake had to tell me, I was ready to cry, scream, or throw up. Or do all three at once, it was a toss up really.

“I’m going to sit down on the couch and you’re going to tell me what’s going on,” I said, putting my hands on Jake’s shoulder to stop him from kissing me when we walked in the door. “Because I know there’s something you’re not telling me.” Jake sighed, running a hand over his face.

“We’re not breaking up, let’s start with that,” Jake’s voice was tired but serious, his words striking out one of my fears. I nodded, running my hands up and down my pajama pants, trying to ease my anxiety with the familiar feeling of the fuzzy fabric. “Rooster and I might be deployed soon.” The news hit me like a blow to the gut, deployed? What happened over Thanksgiving had been a mission, just a few days apart and that had been hell.

“How long?” I heard myself ask, knees folding into my chest. Jake sat beside me, wrapping me in his arms, chin resting on top of my head.

“I don’t know, Wildflower.” 

“Where?” 

“I don’t know and I couldn’t tell you if I did, it would be classified,” Jake kissed my hair. “I don’t have any details, I don’t even know if it’s happening. It’s all just whispers behind closed doors and rumors at this point, which is why I didn’t want to say anything.” 

“I love you,” It’s all I could think to say. Jake’s thumb brushed over my cheeks and that’s when I realized I was crying, “I love you so much.”

“I know, baby, I love you too,” Jake held me tight. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure.”

“Tell me next time, okay?” 

“I promise, Wildflower. I’m sorry I worried you,” Jake kissed the top of my head, rubbing circles into my back. “I love you so much.” 

My first thought was to run, to get away but the second that crossed my mind, the idea of being without Jake hit me like a truck. I didn’t want to be without him, I couldn’t imagine not having Jake in my life. He had managed to intertwined every part of my life with his, from my writing to his family, we were bound together. Running away now would be running away forever. Right?

“Why don’t we call Penny in the morning?” Jake kissed my hair again, drawing me out of my thoughts. “Maybe we can call mama and pops too.”

“I’d like that,” I nuzzled into his neck, “How long are deployments usually?” Jake sighed, bringing me onto his lap.

“It depends, there’s short deployments of just a few months and then there’s deployments that can last over a year.” A year? My grip on Jake’s waist tightened, “It’s probably not going to be that long, baby but if it is, we’ll figure it out.” After a few minutes of silence that felt like hours, Jake whispered, “You’ll be waiting here when I get back?” 

“Always,” I answered without hesitation. I took Jake’s face in my hands, staring him down even though I still wanted to puke a little bit. Jake’s eyes were intense, his brow creased in worry. “I’m not going anywhere and no matter where you go, you’re coming back home to me. Deal?” 

“Deal.” Jake closed the distance between our lips, kissing me soft and sweet. There was no rushing, it was as if we had all the time in the world, and if we did have all that time, what was a few months apart? He pulled my legs fully around him and stood, never breaking the kiss as he carried me to the bedroom. 

When he laid me back on the bed and stripped me bare, Jake took his time. He covered my body in kisses, worshiping every inch like he was committing it to memory, and when we finished, he pulled me into his chest and held me tight all through the night. 

The next morning I called Penny, who evidently had been waiting to hear from me. I tried to ignore the fact that everyone around me probably already knew about the deployment, especially the fact that Tasha hadn’t said anything. Penny invited me over and Jake dropped me off,

“Call me when you’re ready,” He whispered, kissing my forehead. “I love you.” 

“I love you too, cowboy.” 

Penny greeted me with a hug and a mug of peppermint tea, she looked cozy in her navy pajama set and robe, pulling me into her living room.

“How are you holding up, kiddo?” Penny passed me a cream blanket that was soft.

“First thing I wanted to do was run,” Penny hummed, rubbing my knee. “Now I just feel a little numb.” 

“I thought having grown up with my father’s deployments would have made things easier the first time my ex-husband deployed but it didn’t.” She sipped her tea, staring ahead where a picture of her and Amelia hung on the wall. “I spent the first month crying in bed, almost got fired from my job. Then one of the other wives in his unit, an older woman named Vera, sat me down for a talk.” 

Penny looked the picture of calm as she spoke and I envied her for it. What I didn’t envy was how many years, deployments, and undoubted heartache that it took to cultivate that calm. 

“She first told me that I looked like crap,” I chuckled along with Penny. “Then she told me I was going to join her walking group. Most of the wives in the unit met up every morning and walked a mile around base. If we had news, we shared it, some women talked about how their kids were handling things, we organized what we were sending in care packages, and we traded recipes. Anything to keep ourselves sane.” 

“Are you asking me to join your walking group?” Penny pursed her lips at me, rolling her eyes. “What, you, me, and Ames could totally go for walks on the beach before school.” 

“Good luck dragging that girl out of bed early,” She pushed my knee, laughing. “But seriously, Daisy, one of the best things you can do while he’s gone is stay busy and stay connected with me and with him.”

“How am I supposed to talk to him if I don’t know where he is?” 

“You’ll most likely be able to call him but if you want to send him letters, you’ll give them to command and they’ll send the letters to him when they can.” When they can. That wasn’t very reassuring.

“What else do I need to know?” 

X

I spent the day getting my affairs in order, scheduling a stop on my mail, making sure all my bills were on auto pay, and updating my will and life insurance policies. By the time it was lunch, my head was pounding from all of the tedious details. 

When lunch time came and went without a word from Daisy or Penny, I stopped by the store and picked up a few things for Daisy’s apartment. Bath bombs, new pajamas, a few nice notebooks that she’d probably never write in for fear of “ruining” them. I chuckled to myself, I really did love her and all of her little quirks. If it wasn’t for Daisy’s one-year rule I’d pick her up from Penny’s and take her straight to the court house if she’d let me. 

Deployments had never bothered me before, in fact, I loved them. They meant that I could fly on missions, feeling the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I kept an eye out for enemy bogeys. Now the thought of being away from home for even a few days made my heart hurt. I wanted to go to work in the morning, fly formations with the team, and come home to Daisy at the end of the day. I wanted to fall into bed beside her and tease her when she spent twenty minutes rearranging the blankets so she wouldn’t be hot. 

The deployment hadn’t even started yet and I already wanted it to be over. I said a quick prayer, praying that this deployment would be a short one.

Taglist: @dizzybee03 @littlezee80 @nervousenemyduck @carolina-on-my-mind03 @mizzzpink @beltzboys2015-blog @writingrose @hookslove1592 @closetspngirl @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @closetspngirl @shanimallina87 @owenniasstars @cevansbaby-dove @caitsymichelle13 @bigstrongblackheart @mrsevans90

Next Chapter

[antiquepearlss]

I can’t imagine how awkward and uncomfortable the first few weeks post-betrayal must have been for Hugo.

Because yeah, in the heat of the moment after being saved, Varian forgives Hugo. But what about after? No matter how much Hugo apologizes and swears he is loyal to him, that’s such a massive tear in trust. Varian can’t possibly fully forgive and trust him again, no one can. Of course, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love him.

So, they’re a couple, their quest is complete, Nuru and Yong are back home, everything is settled, what now?

Hugo needs to find himself. He needs to figure out who he is aside from a thief. He has a family now, but unfortunately this family doesn’t fully trust him. He has a boyfriend now, but they have a long way to go before they can go back to what they were before and grow as a couple.

Varian spends a lot of time with him but he is clearly uncomfortable sometimes. He sizes him up. Questions what he says a lot more. He doesn’t like having Hugo out of his sight but at the same time, doesn’t really want to be around him all the time. He’s still mad and hurt. It’s like when they first met, but much more bitter because of their previous trust. They have a lot of conversations and it doesn’t take too long to build the trust back up, but now that they’re in a relationship it will take awhile to fully figure that out as well. They still have a lot to learn about eachother, especially in this environment that is completely foreign to Hugo yet so familiar to Varian.

It doesn’t help that Quirin and Eugene are both likely very, very hesitant to accept Hugo into their family. Quirin sees too much of Donella, the woman who took his wife away from him, in Hugo. And naturally, he doesn’t feel comfortable with his son dating a thief who betrayed him.

And Eugene sees way too much of Flynn Rider in Hugo. He’s everything he used to be, everything he hates about himself. A shifty, conniving, loner thief who only cares about himself. Of course he’s against the idea of someone like that dating his baby brother. What if their relationship is toxic? What if Hugo betrays Varian again? What if Hugo breaks his heart again? What if Hugo leaves him at the altar like he did?

Lance and the girls may be pretty accepting, but even they don’t fully trust him. Honestly, I think Rapunzel would be the only one to fully trust him and gladly give him a chance. But even she has her suspicions and doubts. She won’t let Varian get hurt on her watch ever again. 

I think the first few months are very scary and lonely for Hugo. He’s in an unfamiliar environment filled with people that it feels like are waiting for him to fail. They aren’t, they’re naturally suspicious, for good reason, which is worse. He feels guilty constantly. He’s scared. Scared Varian will leave him, scared he’ll mess up and return to his old ways, scared he’ll get thrown out without getting to say goodbye, scared Varian will never trust him again, scared he will be thrown into the dungeons, scared something will happen and he will get blamed. He’s scared, and he doesn’t know who to go to because it’s his fault, right? And he’s lonely because his and Varian’s relationship is still a little strained and they’re trying to figure things out. He has no friends here and all of Varian’s friends and family don’t like him or trust him. Sure, Lance and the princess are friendly, but he can tell they are hesitant to fully befriend him. Quirin is clearly uncomfortable around him. And Eugene despises him.

I think Rapunzel is the first to fully bond with him after Varian, and she helps him adjust to castle life. Eventually, Eugene bonds with him, and helps him adjust to leaving his old thieving ways behind. And maybe he can bond with Cassandra, who helps him cope with the pain of betraying your close friends. And of course Lance is happy to have a new buddy, and the girls are happy to have a new victim. And Quirin does, eventually, see Hugo as his son.

It’s a rough first month or so, but he gets the hang of it, and bonds with his new family.

[vodika-vibes]

Hey, Vod'ika!! I'm in an Echo mood lately.

What about a fic where the reader has been with the batch since before the Empire and the reader and Echo got together round about the time of Order 66. The reader decides to join Rex's rebellion which Echo doesn't mind in fact he loves seeing you everyday. But after taking down Tantiss, Echo notices how you talk to the batch and how you just seem to fit in well on Pabu, so Echo gets an overbearing feeling that he's holding you back from an ordinary life so you have to reassure him that your home is wherever he is. ❤

Wouldn't Change A Thing

Summary: You’re always happy to get to visit your boys, and spending a week on Pabu is always a treat, but when you return to the fight with Echo after this most recent visit, he’s quieter and more withdrawn. And you’re worried.

Pairing: TBB Echo x F!Reader

Word Count: 1117

Warnings: None

A/N: This fic is soft, though I'm setting it in a perfect TBB AU where Tech is still alive. Because I'm a writer and I'm allowed to delude myself like that. (Though, he's actually not mentioned in this story). Anyway, I hope you like it!

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You stretch your arms over your head with a groan as you step out of the fresher and into the suite you share with Echo. As much as you love visiting Pabu, and seeing your boys, sometimes you feel like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation.

Honestly, Hunter can be so exhausting sometimes. And that’s even with him mellowing out since Omega came into his life.

You’re so glad you’re not their handler anymore.

You stretch a little more and grimace when the sunburn on your shoulders pulls uncomfortably. It’s fine, you’ll have Echo put aloe on your back before bed.

Speaking of said man—

Your gaze sweeps across the room. He’s not sitting on the couch, and the bedroom door is propped open, so you can see that he’s not in there either. Then you hear the familiar sound of dishes clinking together, so you turn and poke your head into the kitchen.

Echo’s back is to you, but you’d be surprised if he didn’t know that you were there. For a moment, you watch the muscles ripple across his back, and a tiny smile lifts your lips as you lean your head against the door frame.

Maker, you love him so much.

Echo pauses, and turns his head slightly, “You’re staring.”

“Mm, yeah,” You say through an adoring sigh.

He rolls his eyes and flings a damp washcloth at you. It smacks your chest and falls into your hand, “I’m hardly worth staring at.”

“Agree to disagree, my darling~”

“Cyare.”

“My beloved.” You continue with a grin as you cross the room to stand next to him, “My only. My—” Your words become muffled when he presses his hand over your mouth.

“Hush, you.”

There’s color high on his cheeks, and you giggle in delight. Something softens on his face at the sound of your giggle and he moves his hand from your mouth just enough that he’s able to caress your jaw. 

“You’ve got a sunburn,” Echo notes as he lightly brushes his scomp across the burn on the back of your neck and upper shoulders. 

“Yeah, I’ll need you to help me with some aloe later,” You reply absently as you rub your cheek against the palm of his hand, “If you don’t mind.”

“Oh no, the love of my life wants me to massage lotion into her skin. Whatever shall I do?” He counters, deadpan.

“How is it that you become more sarcastic after spending time with the boys?” You marvel.

“It’s a defense mechanism for having to deal with little brothers.”

You laugh and reach up to cup his face, “Well, I like it when you’re sarcastic.”

“Only because it means that you can be sarcastic right back at me,” He teases with a tiny smile, though the smile fades as he scans your face.

“Echo? What’s wrong?” You ask him, with a tilt of your head.

“You looked pretty happy on Pabu.” He murmurs.

“I mean, sure. Who’s not going to be happy to be able to lie on a beach with a fruity drink?”

“You seem to fit in well there,” Echo continues, “And the others were so happy to see you. And you were happy to see them.”

“Honestly, I’m not convinced that they’re able to survive without me,” You whisper up to him like you’re sharing a secret. “I think Crosshair lost weight, can you believe that!?”

“Cyare,” The affectionate pet name is murmured through a sigh, and you drop your hands from his cheeks, so you’re able to wrap your arms around his neck.

“What’s wrong, Echo? Talk to me.”

“I love that you’re here. I love waking up and seeing you every day.” Echo says slowly, “But, cyare, if you’d be happier on Pabu. I can take you back. You don’t have to stay here.”

You blink at him, struck mute by his words.

Slowly your arms drop from around his neck and you take half a step back, you can’t think when you’re wrapped around him like that. “Echo,” You speak slowly, “Do you want me to leave?”

Echo draws you back into his arms. Unlike you, he thinks more clearly when you’re in his arms. “Never. I want you here, in my arms, all of the time.” He presses his nose into your hair, his voice soft right by your ear, “But if you’re not happy here, then I’ll let you go in a heartbeat.”

Well, that’s what it is to love someone, isn’t it? If you love them, really and truly love them, you’ll want them happy. Even if it means that they’re not with you.

A soft sigh falls from your lips and you turn your head slightly so you’re able to kiss the side of his head, “Have I ever implied that I’m not happy here?” You ask.

“No, but I know you. You’d downplay a fatal injury if you worried it was going to be an inconvenience.” Echo replies.

You wrap your arms tightly around him again, “Then allow me to be blunt,” You trail light fingers across his skin, tracing the scars that show you that your love is a survivor, “Yes, I like Pabu. And yes, I like seeing my boys.”

He tenses slightly, his arms tightening.

“But, Echo, I am happier on Pabu when you are there. And I am happier spending time with the boys when you are with me.” He pulls back slightly, so he’s able to look you in the eye, and you continue with a small smile, “My place, Echo, is wherever you are. Be it here, or Pabu, or a moisture farm on Tatooine.”

“Cyar’ika—”

“And I wouldn’t change a single thing.” You pause, “Well, maybe I’d change the whole rise of the Empire thing, but that’s the only thing I’d change!” You inch closer to him so that you’re pressed flush against his body, “I love you, Echo. And I will stay here, with you, until you get tired of me.”

“It’ll never happen.” Echo replies as he bumps his forehead against yours.

“Are you sure? I can be really annoying.”

“The most aggravating woman I’ve ever met,” Echo agrees, his hand coming up to cradle the back of your head, “But I wouldn’t change you for all of the credits in the galaxy.”

“Good.”

Any further conversation is unnecessary, as Echo’s lips catch yours in a deep kiss and he starts walking you back towards the bedroom. “I should get the aloe,” He murmurs against your lips, “Something something good boyfriend.”

“You just want to be a pervert,” You accuse.

“Those aren’t mutually exclusive.” He laughs against your jaw, as he kicks the bedroom door shut.

@imabeautifulbutterfly

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[pretty-blkgirl]

Soul’s Desire [Ch. 33]

- Masterlist -

~~~~|~~~~

“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head when you fell?”

“We can go back to the hospital if you need to”

“I swear to God I’ll get Eunji fired, she went too fucking far”

“Want some more food?”

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“You sure you’re not concussed?”

“Security stopped me from going onstage when I saw you fall”

“You have a bruise on your arm”

Chan was nice enough to allow you some much-needed silence on the car ride to Han and Lee Know’s dorm, but as soon as you two stepped foot in the door, the other seven of your soulmates swarmed you.

Soon, eight worried men were surrounding you, offering food, questioning you, or ranting about how they were going to avenge you.

Han knew half the reason you were upset was because of the backlash you were getting, so that was the main topic after the boys ensured you were full and well-hydrated.

“This is so fucking frustrating” Felix, the usual peacemaker, seethed. You noticed he and Chan spoke English when they were pissed. Their accents were heavier than usual as they ranted to one another, offering solutions to your problems.

“Baby we’ll take care of this, don’t even worry about it” I.N sighed, giving you a look of sympathy

“How so? It’s not like you guys can tell people to stop talking shit about me”

“I can” Hyunjin shrugged, “And I will. Fuck my idol image, I’ll do whatever it takes to defend you”

You smile, “I appreciate that baby, but that’ll do more harm than good”

“A dating rumor will start. Dispatch will eat that shit right up” Seungmin noted, “Then she’ll get more hate. Then the company is involved, internal investigations, hiatuses maybe”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, his irritation apparent but he nodded, agreeing that speaking out may not be the best solution.

“All we can do is let this shit blow over. I mean, people are talking shit but I saw a bunch of Charms defending me”

“I’ve seen some Stays defending you too” Han pointed out, “Actually, anyone with sense is defending you”

“There shouldn’t be a need to defend her in the first place. People are mad because she had a medical emergency. That’s so stupid” Changbin ranted

“People are stupid” Chan sighed, frustration clear in his voice, “What do you wanna do y/nnie? How do you want to handle this?”

Eight pairs of eyes stared at you as you thought about the question. Really, what could you do?

“It can’t be helped” You conclude, “This is just… one of the downsides of being an idol. It sucks but I just gotta deal with it.”

“I’m so sorry baby” Felix frowns, tears welling up in his eyes. You dubbed Felix the “feeler” in the group. Whenever you felt like crying but you didn’t want to let those tears out, he’d do it for you. Same for if you wanted to laugh, or scream. He gave you that relief.

“I feel like we can at least get Eunji fired” Han groaned

“She said it was an accident, plus I can’t blame her entirely. I hadn’t eaten anything the entire day, part of it was my fault too”

“It wasn’t a damn accident” Changbin huffed, “And don’t blame yourself for anything. However, I’m gonna make it my mission to make sure you’re eating and drinking like you’re supposed to”

You nod, knowing when Changbin is serious about something, nothing is going to stop him from doing it.

“You know what? How about we all turn our phones off and just spend time together? No outside distractions, and especially no social media” Hyunjin suggested

Everyone agreed, but you made sure to send a message to your members and manager, letting them know your whereabouts.

I.N. ran to the kitchen and came back with a large plastic bowl. It had little cartoon cats on it, so you knew who it belonged to.

“Everyone put their phones in the bowl. We’re having a soulmate bonding night”

“You sound like Felix” Minho rolls his eyes but is the first to hand over his phone. The rest of you follow suit, with Hyunjin being the last one to do so.

“Let’s pop some popcorn and watch a movie” You suggest, “I’ll pick the movie”

“Nuh uh y/nnie” I.N. protests, “You have a habit of picking sad movies. We aren’t crying tonight”

“Let’s watch a scary movie,” Seungmin says

“Hell no” Chan and Felix seem to say at the same time

“Romance then” Hyunjin smiles

It’s you who sighs this time, “Hyunjin, please. You know I adore you, but nobody wants to see Titanic….again”

“I say we watch an Action Movie,” Changbin says excitedly, “Jurassic Park?”

“We watched that last time” Han whines

“Let’s just do a comedy” Minho grunts, grabbing the remote and picking a random streaming service

You all settle on a random movie you enjoy and the boys have never seen it.

The spacious living room was filled with laughter, sounds of sneaky kisses, and the crunching of popcorn as your movie marathon went on.

At some point, the movies stopped, and you all had sleepy conversations that lasted way longer than they should have.

Before you knew it though, you were curled up in Minho’s bed, wearing only a shirt you stole from his drawer.

You slept in a starfish position, leaving Minho to sneak off to Han’s room to get a chance at a comfortable night’s sleep.

The rest of the boys went to their respective dorms, all giving you a kiss goodnight before leaving.

You dreamt of sunny days and starry nights, lying on the grass with eight familiar faces huddled around you.

It was the best sleep you had gotten in years.

~~~~|~~~~

Taglist: @chuuyaobsessed @h0rnyp0t @prttyxbby @yukichan67 @hanniemylovelyquokka @xxeiraxx @loveforlee444 @whatdoyouwanttocallmefor @cunninglibrarian @holly-here @galaxy4489 @hyunmikim @yougottobekittenme @hyeon-yi @katsukis1wife @multi-fandom-nightmare @staybabblingbaby @kozumesphone @fuck-you-im-gae @thatonedarkskinnedsiren @just-a-blackthorn-cookie @champagneconfetti @juju-227592 @borahae-reads @reallychaoticwoo

[alexcalder]

 ───it was better for him, safer in regards to his overthinking, to agree on this with her. despite being their second set of babies, it’s actually a first for him as an experience and that does add pressure to the fact that he doesn’t want to mess it up; he wanted to be supportive, helpful, to do what he can to lessen her mental and physical load, too —but it seemed like a hard task to complete when he had no clue what to expect half of the time. anticipation is key, is something he had learned well in his line of work, and perhaps he would be wiser to apply this to any situation that he isn’t familiar with; one way or another.

he found that reading pregnancy books did help to ease some of the concerns he may have had, at least to an extent —still, theory is different than practice. this is something he has decided he will take slowly as it comes, and if anything Liz has been through it before, even if her first pregnancy was different than this one, it’s still going to fall under the main objective and he can have her for reference when needed. It worried him a little how she was going to handle the stress caused by the twins, and evermore by Claude, but at least she would allow herself to take a break for a few days. a smile formed on his lips at her response —of course, he wanted her with him, he did prefer her to go along in fact, just hadn’t meant to put pressure on her knowing her close bond with their babies. “I was half-concerned you wouldn’t be able to leave the babies for these amount of days,” he half-teased her; “but I selfishly wanted you to say yes.” it’s not often he would admit that, even if she knows it or he isn’t subtle with how obsessed he is with her. truth is, he wouldn’t mind going alone, but he does prefer to go with her; just the two of them so he can hoard her a little in whatever free time he has ( and he would make a decent effort to spend only the amount necessary away from her to study his target so he could spend the majority of it with her ).

her hand is still in his, rested against his lap; she has a tendency to stay on the end of the passenger side and he may not say it, but he likes having her closer. it is this effect she has on him, the way her presence helped quieten down the cacophony of overthinking and disrupting the circle and the need to break down every little detail in search of a different meaning. she is patient with him, sure, and that helps too when he gets worked up over, literally, nothing.

“you need to help me with this babe, I don’t know where they would sell coconut water,” he admitted, glancing at her for a mere moment.

⸻ Elizabeth watched Alexander analyzing the ultrasound with their new bundles of love pictures. She was partially worried, she wanted or expected one, but surprised by a second set of twins. She was worried that she would fail them, but then again, Lilou and Beau were just fine. If she managed to handle twins once, why wouldn't she be able to handle it twice? ⏤ And she isn't alone, she has his support so it'll be new for her to have a partner to share things with. It was both thrilling and scary at the same time. The blonde felt her body, colliding with his when he wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. ❛ I don't mind having your presence in the appointments. If you don't want to miss any, then, it's okay. If I want to go alone, I'll let you know. ❜

The Aussie doesn't mind having Alexander in all appointments, but she knew some of them might be so boring, that he wouldn't need to be present, but if he really wanted to be around who is she to deny him anything? ⏤ Five or six days, she could handle it. She wanted to be alone with him, on a trip to a gateway together. This seems like a perfect timing. ⏤ She had a few ideas on how to make this work, when she worked as a stripper and sometimes the twins couldn't behave well, she used to talk to them through video call, in her breaks. Rarely on unpredictable times. Perhaps, if she adjusts the timezone and does constant video calls, it'd be okay. Besides, it wasn't like they were spending too long, if anything she flew home alone and waited for Alex to get there later. Part of her is worried that Alex will vanish and maybe appear two years later.

She tried to avoid that thought. ❛ That will be fun! I can't wait to go. ❜ Part of her was extremely worried about letting Claude and the twins together when both of them were out across the ocean. If living in the same state, the same city, the trio drives her nuts… She'd ask for Ricardo, who goes some days to visit her place to see if something is upside down. ⏤ The news for their twins will be undoubtedly when they arrive from this trip. She was taken by surprise when he got her hand and kissed it, and she turned her face to him offering a kind smile. ❛ No, I'm not hungry now. I'm a little nauseous.❜ Definitely, eating wasn't exactly what she wanted at the moment. Although, she loves desserts she couldn't bring herself to have one. Not that day. ❛ Maybe, something to drink. Coconut water. ❜

[sysig]

Now that they can, would they want to spend a lot of time together? (Patreon)

[burningfaith]

next month me and my grandma are going to visit my godfather who lives in Spain, but instead of being excited (it's gonna be my second time abroad in my life) I'm anxious af, because even though I'm an adult I live with my parents and I need to tell my father about it. normal parents would - y'know - be happy that their children have opportunity to visit another country, but instead he's gonna be insufferable about it, because it's my mom's side of family and he despises my uncle. but what is he gonna do? kick me out of the house even though he promised that as long as I'm studying or working I don't need to worry about such thing, humiliate me as usual, tell me that I'm childish and spoiled or make my mom's life a living hell again? I'm aware of the fact that the longer I'm putting it off the worse his reaction is gonna be, but I'm just not mentally able to tell him that, because I don't know how he will react. I don't need any money from him, I don't have to use my phone during this trip (I dunno how the roaming and stuff work), I just want to be sure he's gonna behave like a proper human being towards my mom and my siblings when I won't be at home and not act like a total asshole while talking with me about it.

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

Relief washed over him when she answered "evening wear"; that he could certainly help her with! They had quite a selection under those specifications (and they could certainly get even more specific than that), and so he gladly let her over to that particular corner of the store, saying, "O-Oh, no worries, miss, w-we specialize in last-minute engagements! We have many, many options, uh, we have everything ranging from casual dinner parties to black-tie events!"

He wondered what sort of party she was going to attend on such short notice (at least, that's what he assumed she was doing)-there was something hauntingly glamorous about her, like a classic silver screen starlet somehow...there was a part of him that was tempted to ask if she was a movie or TV star (maybe that was why she seemed so familiar to him?), but feeling that would be a little forward of him, he kept that question to himself.

"D-Do you, uh...have a color in mind, perhaps?" he ventured to ask, as he gestured to the assortment of dresses on display, saying, "Pastels are always popular this time of year, th-they fly right off the shelves, b-but florals are good too-and, I-I mean, I don't think you can ever go wrong with a nice, simple white..."

He pulled a dress off the rack to illustrate this, offering up a very loose-fitting, very breezy-looking thin-strapped white dress, something that would billow beautifully in the summer breeze. Admittedly, he tended to suggest white gowns to his customers-white was his favorite color, as he found it so versatile in all of its many differing tones and shades, and in so many fabric types too. As far as he was concerned, everyone looked good in white.

And (in his humble opinion, of course) she would look especially beautiful in it.

[ofworththerisk]

Natalie hated to watch Will in pain, his injuries were in account of her. He stepped in front of her to save her, and although this was a concept both of us were disagreeing upon, I wouldn’t let him sacrifice himself for me anymore. I loved him; and given all the roads taken to get us here; to get us to admit and say the words I love you without the struggle of hurting someone else. Nat didn’t take the safety, the healing process for granted. Will was very much loved within these hospital walls. Protective even which could be why Goodwin and the team had insisted on Will spending a few extra days here at the hospital, I was okay with but I also noticed how agitated Will was getting, which is why I worked my magic. 

How does the saying go? You do what you can for those you love. I love will, and the last thing I wanted was for his headache to prolong due to being stuck to a bed. Yes his mobility was hard, given the injuries he endured, but Nat was a nurse, she’d help but not fuss, she had the inking feeling Will would chew her out for that one, no matter how much he loved her. But she saw the sparkle of relief, of him coming to his senses now, as that grin played at the corners of his lips, I was a life savior you know, the words hidden on my lips as I moved standing slightly above the male, that cute little grin of mine hitting the corners of my lips. “ I do what I can to please, besides you were obviously gonna try to sneak out if I didn’t..” I added teasingly because I knew Will; he was relentless, he was getting annoyed with how protective the hospital crew were getting; and I only wanted to put his wants first. Leaning down I pressed a quick kiss to his his lips before I muttered. “ You’re our guest which means I wasn’t going to let you bring something. “ Pausing with a hum as she moved to check out the numbers on the monitor and she smirked as she added “ Although next time flowers wouldn’t hurt.” I said with a playful wink of mine. It was nice; we’re on a good page; us, and hopefully once we had signed the discharge papers the injury, wouldn’t take away from this new stage of brewed love between us.

Continued

@thebetterlookingbrother

A promise, a pleading in my voice. I felt weak, like I was alone here. Because the one person I always turned to for advice, to help keep me sane was hurt. Will was a guiding compass for me, he was someone who brought this magical light into my life. Even when I felt like my back was pressed against a wall I could always turn to him. We had kissed once before and I felt the sparks; I knew where my heart laid yet i ran. Because I was scared of losing the most important relationship in my life. 

And now it felt silly because the night I decided to take the plunge, The night I decided the timing was on my side Will got hurt; hit by a car because he was trying to be a hero to save me. I felt the overwhelming feeling, I felt the sadness at the thought of losing him. I felt like I was broken inside; and when I came to his hospital room, I felt that ache in my chest. I lowered myself down into the chair besides his bed; and I extended my hand to touch his. The hand to hold onto him. Fingers laid over his own; a pinky finger slowly tracing over his palm. “ Stay with me.” A plead and with disbelief I saw it; the flicker of his eye as he mumbled my name. Nat; it was music to my ears. I felt the burning in my eyes; the need to cry. 

“ I’m here okay.” A reassurance that I wasn’t going anywhere. That I was at his side when he had the strength to wake up. I saw it the flicker of an eye before his eyes had closed again. He needed his rest; the doctors I worked with hadn’t shown any concern so I wasn’t worried to an extent. I sat during this time cursing myself for all the moments I missed. For not telling Will how I felt before. When he had been so honest before Nina. He had always checked in on me, he had kissed me by the ambulance that one time. The butterflies I had felt that day; but i was scared and for a second I felt the timing would fall into my lap and now I just couldn’t imagine a life without him. 

 I had leaned my head against the chair closing my head briefly as I waited. I heard the nurses talking outside what an unfortunate event tonight; yeah tell me about it. I wanted to roll my eyes; to call them out for their insensitivity of this, but i held my breath. Instead I had stayed quit how long as passed? I don’t know before I had felt the movement in his hand; the fingers in my grasp moved; that’s what forced my eyes to lift open; I tried to pretend i hadn’t cried but I had the feeling Will could read right through me. 

Shifting in my seat; the female had urged herself forward, Dance lessons; is that his first thought? After the accident. I wanted to laugh but held my tongue. “ I think I’m more worried about you than the stupid dance lessons.” A laugh escaped my lips as I had leaned closer against the bed; until my head tilted down to place a small kiss to the top of his hand. 

He was fighting; this was a good sign; I had talk myself into believing.

[yo9urt]

finally we are entering the Majima Zone (the post-dinner pre-bed hours that are exclusively designated as video game time)

[kaijutegu]

Alligator Body Language and You, or: How To Know When An Alligator On Social Media is Being Stressed for Views

Alligators are wild animals. Despite the idiotic claims of animal abusers like Jay Brewer, they cannot be domesticated, which means they are always going to react on the same natural instincts they've had for millions of years. Habituated, yes. Tamed, yes. Trained, definitely. Crocodilians can form bonds with people- they're social and quite intelligent. They can solve problems, use tools, and they're actually quite playful. Alligators are also really good at communicating how they're feeling, but to somebody who doesn't spend much time around them, their body language can be a bit mystifying. And it doesn't help when social media influencers are saying shit like this:

That is not what a happy gator looks like.

That's a terrified, furious gator who isn't attacking because the ogre handling her has her in a chokehold. She's doing everything she can to express her displeasure, and he's lying about it because he knows his audience doesn't even know how to think critically about what he's doing. He knows that because his audience doesn't know anything about these animals, he can get away with it. This I think is why I hate him so much- he deliberately miseducates his audience. He knows what he's doing is factually inaccurate, he just doesn't care because attention means more to him than anything else in the world.

Let's change that! Here are two really important lessons for understanding alligator body language on social media.

Lesson 1: Alligators Don't Smile (in fact, most animals don't)

So what's going on in this video? Jay Brewer is aggressively choking his white alligator Coconut while scrubbing algae off of her with a toothbrush. And make no mistake, he is digging into the creature's throat while she is visibly distressed. He claims she's happy- but she's not. He is willfully misrepresenting what this animal is feeling. That's a problem, because people... well, we actually kind of suck at reading other species' body language. The reason for this is that we tend to overlay our own responses on their physical cues, and that's a problem. For example, let's look at an animal with a really similar face to ours, the chimpanzee. Check out Ama's toothy grin!

Wait, no. That's not a happy smile. That's a threat display. When a chimpanzee "smiles," it's either terrified and doing a fear grimace, or it's showing you its teeth because it intends on using them in your face.

How about a dog? Look at my smiling, happy puppy!

Oh wait no, this is a picture of Ryder when he was super overwhelmed by noise and people during a holiday party. He'd hopped up in my sister's lap to get away from stuff that was happening on the floor and was panting quite heavily. See the tension in the corners of his mouth and his eyes? A lot of the time when a dog "smiles," the smile isn't happy. It's stress! Why Animals Do The Thing has a nice writeup about that, but the point is, our body language is not the same as other species. And for reptiles, body language is wildly different.

For instance, look at these two alligators. Pretty cute, right? Look at 'em, they're posing for a Christmas card or something! How do you think they're feeling?

Well, I'll tell you how the normal one is feeling. He's annoyed! Why is he annoyed? Because the albino just rolled up, pushed another gator off the platform, and is trying to push this guy, too. I know this because I actually saw it happen. It was pretty funny, not gonna lie. He's not gaping all the way, but he was hissing- you can actually see him getting annoyed in the sequence I took right before this shot. Look at him in this first shot here- he's just relaxing, and you can see he isn't gaping even a little bit.

By the end, he's expressing displeasure, but not enough to actually do anything about it. He's annoyed, but he's comfy and that's where one of the best basking areas is, so he'll put up with it.

Reptiles open their mouths wide for a lot of reasons, but never because they are actively enjoying a sensation. Unless they're eating. No reptile smiles- they can't. They don't even have moveable lips. If a reptile is gaping, it's doing so because:

It is doing a threat display.

It is making certain vocalizations, all of which are threats. Alligators are one of the rare reptiles that do regularly vocalize, but most of their calls aren't made with a wide open mouth.

It is about to bite something delicious or somebody stupid. Check out this video- virtually all of the gaping here is anticipatory because these trained gators know darn well that the bowl is full of delicious snacks. (I have some issues with Florida's Wildest, but the man knows how to train a gator AND he is honest about explaining what they're doing and why, and all of his animals are healthy and well-cared for, and he doesn't put the public or his staff at risk- just himself.)

It's too hot and it has opened its mouth to vent some of that heat and thermoregulate. This is the main reason why alligators will often have their mouths part of the way open, but sometimes they'll open all the way for thermoregulation. This is what a thermoregulatory gape looks like- usually it's not all the way open, kinda more like < rather than V, but you can't say that 100% of the time. Additionally, a thermoregulatory gape... typically happens when it's hot out. If they're inside, maybe they've been under their basking light for too long. Heat's the dominant factor, is what I'm getting at.

There is another reason that a captive crocodilian might be gaping, and that's because it's doing so on command. Some places have their gators trained to gape on cue, like St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other good zoos. They have the animals do this in presentations that are genuinely educational. They ask the animals to open their mouths so that they can show off their teeth and demonstrate how their tongues seal off the back of their mouth. They'll also do it as part of routine healthcare, because looking at their teeth is important.

In this case, the animals aren't gaping because they're stressed, they're gaping because they know they're gonna get a piece of chicken or fish if they do it. And what's more, they're doing it on cue. They have a specific command or signal that tells them to open wide. It's not an instinctive response to a situation. It's trained. If the animal provides the behavior after a cue, the situation is much less likely to be negatively impactful.

It's also important to remember that there's a difference between a partially open mouth and a gape! As discussed above, alligators will often have their mouths a little bit open just to maintain temperature homeostasis. It helps them stay comfy, temperature-wise. These guys are all doing thermoregulatory open-mouthed behavior- that slight open and relaxed body posture is a dead giveaway. (That and it's the hottest spot in the enclosure.)

Lesson 2: A Happy Gator Is A Chill Gator

So if alligators don't smile or have facial expressions other than the :V that typically signifies distress, how else can you tell how they're feeling? One way is stillness. See, alligators subscribe to the philosophy of if it sucks... hit da bricks.

Basically, if they hate it, they'll leave. Unless, y'know, somebody has their meaty claws digging into their throat or is otherwise restraining them. (Restraint isn't always bad, btw. Sometimes the animal is going through a medical thing or needs to be restrained for their safety- which a responsible educator will explain.)

Let's look at a very similar scenario, in which a captive alligator is getting his back scrubbed.

As you can see, it's quite different. First, he's not being restrained at all. Second, look at how relaxed he is! He's just chilling there vibing! He could simply get up and leave if he wanted to, because he's not being held. Towards the end of the video, as he lifts his head, you can see that his respiratory rate is very even as his throat flutters a bit. I'm not sure what this facility is, so I can't comment on care/general ethics, but like. In this specific case, this is an alligator enjoying being scrubbed! And you can tell because he's not doing anything. A happy gator is content to be doing what they're doing.

Why Should I Listen To You?

Now, you should ask yourself, why should you listen to me? Why should you trust me, who does not own an alligator, versus Jay Brewer, who owns several?

Well, first off, there's no profit for me in telling you that what you're seeing on social media is in fact not what you're being told you're seeing. I'm not getting paid to do this. That's the thing with people who make social media content. The big names aren't doing it just for fun. They're doing it for money. Whether that's profit through partnerships or sponsorships, or getting more people to visit their facilities, or ad revenue, you can't ignore the factor of money. And this is NOT a bad thing, because it allows educators to do what they're passionate about! People deserve to be paid for the work that they do!

But the problem starts when you chase the algorithm instead of actually educating. A "smiling" alligator gets the views, and if people don't know enough to know better, it keeps getting the views. People love unconventional animal stories and they want those animals to be happy- but the inability to even know where to start with critically evaluating these posts really hinders the ability to spread real information. Like, this post will probably get a couple hundred notes, but that video of Coconut being scrubbed had almost 400,000 likes when I took that screenshot. Think about how many eyeballs that's reached by now. What I'm saying here is that it's just... really important to think critically about who you're getting your information from. What do dissenters say in the comments? What do other professionals say? You won't find a single herpetologist that has anything good to say about Prehistoric Pets, I can tell you that right now.

Another reason you can trust me is that my sources are not "just trust me bro," or "years of experience pretending my pet shop where animals come to die is a real zoo." Instead, here are my primary sources for my information on alligator behavior:

Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations- Vladimir Dinets

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles- J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, Gordon M. Burghardt

Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Z Walsh, H Olson, M Clendening, A Rycyk

Social Displays of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)- Kent Vliet

Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles- Leslie Garrick, Jeffery Lang

Never smile at a crocodile: Gaping behaviour in the Nile crocodile at Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa- Cormac Price, Mohamed Ezat, Céline Hanzen, Colleen Downs (this one's Nile crocs, not American alligators, but it's really useful for modeling an understanding of gape behaviors and proximity)

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Cheryl S. Asa, Gary D. London, Ronald R. Goellner, Norman Haskell, Glenn Roberts, Crispen Wilson

Unprovoked Mouth Gaping Behavior in Extant Crocodylia- Noah J. Carl, Heather A. Stewart, Jenny S. Paul

Thank you for reading! Here's a very happy wild alligator from Sanibel for your trouble.

[kentopedia]

nanami kento, who hates dating, and didn’t do much of it in his early twenties. but now, he’s almost thirty, watching all the people he works with settle down, have kids, and he thinks he wants that. so he might as well try.

so satoru sets him up on a few dates — friends of friends, he calls them. and at the end of every one of the dinners, kento goes home empty, exhausted, because he knows what they want is not the same.

still; he thinks maybe he’s being a little self-destructive, maybe too picky, maybe he just got so used to being alone. with satoru’s insistence, he gives all the women another call, invites them over to his apartment.

the first time was a disaster… kento had barely set the dinner on the table before his cat had hissed at her, scratched her down the arm in a thin gash. and though it did draw blood, it was hardly enough to warrant that reaction.

he didn’t even try to stop her as she picked up her bag and left, huffing like she’d been morally offend. kento, though, could only smile to himself in amusement.

because maybe kento was a poor judge of character, a man who was secretly hoping nothing would pan out — but his cat could certainly tell the good from the bad.

it became a little game to him, after that. seeing if anyone could win his pet over, and if they could, perhaps they were the one. his darling animal was a fickle thing anyway. a bit too defensive, quick to bite anything threatening after years on the streets.

naturally, no one came back twice.

he was close to giving up, accepting his solitude because he was tired of empty conversations over dinner. but then, he ventured out over the weekend to a new coffee shop, during hours he normally didn’t spend out of his home, and met you.

though you only talked for a moment, kento felt like maybe he’d known you in a past life. a part of him thought maybe it was strange, the way he kept coming back to talk to you, catching you at the end of your shift to see if you wanted to grab a coffee sometime.

by the second date, kento started to think you could turn out to be his best friend.

by the third date, kento wondered if soulmates were real.

on the fourth date, almost two months later, an appropriate time to get to know someone when you were as reserved as kento, he invited you over for dinner. it was, perhaps, the final confirmation he needed to let himself be with you.

he let you through the door, smiling softly as you told him about the book you were reading, and hung his coat on the rack. a moment later, you stopped, distracted, hands covering your mouth in a gasp.

“kento! she’s the cutest cat i’ve ever seen, you didn’t even show me pictures!” you exclaim, and, a few feet away, crouched down. “look at her pretty eyes…”

“careful,” kento said, “she’s not very—“

but the cat approached your outstretched hand, sniffed once, before letting you scratch her under her chin, purring loud enough for kento to hear across the room.

“shes such a sweetheart, you told me she was mean!” you smiled, making a cooing noise as you threaded your fingers through her fur. “kento’s a liar, isn’t he… you’re so precious.”

a few moments later, she snapped her jaw at you in a biting motion, and you only laughed, withdrawing your hand. “alright, i get it, i won’t bother you anymore.”

though she still brushed against your legs, just as she did kento’s, and seemed to communicate some sort of message to him.

“do you want any help cooking?” you ask, tucking your hair behind your ears. “i’m a disaster in the kitchen, but—“

“sure,” kento said, his chest tightening as he blinked back at you, only in his apartment for minutes and already looking as at home there. he wondered if it was possible to fall in love so quickly. “but only if you want to.”