#(so if you were following them there you might not know that they have a ton more music under bbhf)

[terrestrialnoob]

Gut Feeling

DPXDC

Commissioner Jim Gordon meets an odd kid in the precinct.

--

“Come on, you really don’t have a way to directly contact Batman?”

Jim smiled. Kids came to the station and asked that all the time. Usually, it was just curiosity and showing them the signal was enough to get them to sign up for the Junior Police program. This one looked a little older than most, teenagers were often “too old” to believe in Batman, but again, give them a little faith now and they’ll never loose it.

“Lookin’ for the Bat, kid?” Jim asked, knowing he was about to make this kid’s –

Jim froze. The kid turned to face him and it was Bruce Wayne. Not playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne, but freshly a teenager Bruce Wayne. The Bruce Wayne who Jim had checked in on time and again from age eight until he ran off on a globetrotting trip to find himself. The little Bruce Wayne with too pale skin and dark bags under his eyes, and not enough love to make up for all the grief weighing him down. And he didn’t look like Damian either, where Bruce was obviously his father but there were distinct traits from his mother. This was a carbon copy of a boy Jim remembered vividly.

“I am.” He even sounded like teenage Bruce. All business, like he was on a mission.

“I might be able to help you, but it’ll take a while.” Jim said and the officer the kid had been talking too gave him an odd look. He waved her off and told the kid to follow him to the commissioner’s office. Normally, he’d be more dramatic, put on more of a show for the kid, but his gut told him this was different, this was important. He offered the kid a styrofoam cup of water then closed the door behind him. “So, what do you need to talk to Batman for?”

“It’s personal. I need to talk to him in person.”

Jim took a sip of coffee from his cup. “He doesn’t appreciate me calling for no reason in the middle of the day.”

“So you do have a direct line?” The kid nearly jumped out of his seat. “If he’s upset, it’ll be my fault, just call him, please.”

“Who should I say wants to talk to him?”

The kid hesitated. “He doesn’t know me, but I have to talk to him.”

Jim frowned. “What’s your name, kid?”

He swallowed and looked like he wasn’t going to answer for a moment. “Danny.”

“Danny…?” Jim wanted a last name but Danny kept quiet. Jim sighed, “He’s likely not going to show up until sundown.”

“I can wait, as long as you guarantee he’ll show.”

“And you’re not going to tell me why you need Batman?” Jim just got a glare in response. “What about one of the other heroes?”

“Only Batman, no one else can help.”

“You sure about that? Not even Superman?”

“Not unless Superman can get me in the same room as Batman.”

“Why’s it so important that you meet him in person?”

“It’s personal.”

Jim liked this less and less by the minute. “Do your parents know you’re here?”

Danny looked away but right when it looked like he wouldn’t say anything he mumbled. “They wouldn’t care anyway.”

After another moment to give the kid time to reconsider, Jim pulled out the Bat-phone. It was a normal Wayne-Tech cell phone, but Jim had been given very specific instructions on how and when to use it. The phone listed all the Gotham Vigilantes without visible numbers so they couldn’t be copied and handed out. He pressed the one for Batman.

“Stand outside, would you?” The kid gave him a look, but followed the request. Jim could see his shadow in the door’s window, not so subtle eavesdropping.

It rang a few times, and Jim sat there awkwardly with a teenager listening to his every move. Finally, a familiar voice picked up the other end of the line. “Commissioner Gordon.”

“Sorry to call you out of the blue Batman, but I’ve got a kid here who needs your help.”

“Who?”

“Says his name is Danny, that you’ve never met him but you’re the only one who can help him.”

“Why?”

“Refuses to tell me.”

“What’s your best guess, Commissioner?”

Jim looked at Danny’s shadow, it looked like he was straining his ears to try and hear what he was saying. Danny had given him almost nothing to work with. Just his name, that he’s never met Batman but needs to talk with him in person. But Jim was here because he listened to his gut. A feeling like when you see a random rock on your neighbor’s doorstep but you’d never go in without an invitation. A feeling like you know what’s in the present and are preparing your surprised face. A feeling like when you cheated on your wife and you know she knows.

“He looks like Bruce Wayne.”

A beat of silence. “What?”

“Danny looks exactly like Bruce when he was a teenager. Exactly the same.” Jim hoped Batman would get it, feel in his gut what Jim felt.

“And he wont say why he’s there?”

“No, and he demands to see you in person.”

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

“10-4.” The line cut off before Jim had finished saying it. He called Danny in again. “He’s on his way.”

Danny glared at him. “If he’s not, if you called some social worker or something, you’ll regret it.”

“I’m sure.” Jim sighed and downed the rest of his now cold coffee.

The sun hadn’t set, but only just barely. Jim ended up taking Danny up to the roof in the end after all, if only to save his window from being broken into. The kid had a red hoodie on, but he was still shivering in the autumn chill and it was just going to get colder by the minute as the sun made its way behind the horizon.

Jim checked his watch and, at exactly an hour from when he called, he acted surprised when Batman and Robin appeared out of nowhere. “Bats.”

“Commissioner.” Batman greeted but his eyes went straight for Danny. “Danny, I assume.”

“Yeah, I…” Danny hesitated, looking at Jim and Robin.

All it took was four words from Batman. “What do you need?”

The kid held out his hand with a flash drive in it. “I’m your clone. My par- The people who made me wanted to make a stronger version of you, but they got ahead of themselves. My DNA is degrading and I’ll die if I don’t get your DNA to stabilize me.”

Holy cow.

“You don’t expect us to believe that, do you?” Robin sneered at him.

“The flash drive has all the info on it. All the data about the cloning process and the, uh, relevant experiments after that.” Batman gave the kid a look. “I didn’t want to waste time on unnecessary data.”

“If what you’re saying is true, why are you here, alone? Are they working on a different solution?”

Danny’s shoulders hiked up. “I’ve been a failure for a while now, I’m not worth the resources and they’d learn more from an autopsy.”

Oof, kid. Jim looked at Batman who seemed to feel the same… if Jim was reading him right.

“So, you wont object to a DNA test?” Robin asked with a cocky head tilt, at least he was relatively easy to read.

“You can try.” Danny said, and then realized what that sounded like. “I mean I wont stop you, but my DNA degrades faster outside my body. You’ll have to take me to whatever lab you plan on using.”

“Then we will.” Batman said and jerked his head towards where they’d probably parked that ridiculous car of his. But then he looked at Jim with a nod. “Commissioner.”

“Batman.” Jim returned the nod. “You’ll tell me how things turn out, yeah?”

“I’ll give you a report.” Batman joked – Jim could tell, it was gut feeling.

[lemmesayimyourbiggestfan]

Say my name again

Hwang In-ho x reader

word count: 2k

warnings: blood, gore, violence… if u watched SG, you’ll be fine

as always, requests are open!

You’ve been watching him for some time now. Paying attention to the way his mouth moved when he talked to his teammates, following his gaze wherever he looked. After the second game, you overheard him introducing himself. Young-il. What a coincidence he looked like the police officer that visited your flat so many years ago. The name was what made you suspicious - you could have sworn the police officer introduced himself to you as Hwang In-ho. And it’s not as if you could’ve gotten those mixed up; you two spent many restless days trying to find the ones who were behind the robbery of your home. But, you smiled with some bitterness on your tongue, the outcome was obvious based on your situation.

You knew you were the only one watching him so closely. One of your teammates even joked about it, saying you were mesmerised by that man. But he just made you nervous - his presence planting a bug in your brain. Was he a spy for the government? Or was he just as miserable as the rest of you?

With another unsuccessful vote behind you, you could finally rest and get off of your adrenaline high by leaning against the railing of your bunk bed while nibbling on some bread. You took off your bloodied shoes that always made you nauseous just by looking at them and while doing some breathing exercises your eyes of their own volition found that familiar face in the moving crowd. Of course he is still playing, you thought. He was a cop, no matter what. You watched him give his own share of milk to the pregnant girl. Did he do it out of kindness or to manipulate those people?

“Seriously, Y/N, you must have a problem. What is wrong with you? Staring like that at that poor guy- he might get the wrong idea.” One of your teammates said to you, sitting next to you on the bed.

“Don’t worry so much. I’m just watching and that’s harmless on its own.”

“On its own, yes. But what you’re doing is more than that.”

You raised your brow in annoyance and curiosity and moved your eyes to her.

“And what is it that I’m doing?” You pursed your lips.

“Stalking, mildly put.” She grimaced at your look, sensing how close to irritated you were becoming.

“Stalking? Such a nonsense, Se-mi.”

“Well, whatever. Just be careful so he doesn’t notice or in the next game you might have even more trouble staying alive.”

“Yeah? Is that because you’re so done with me you’re gonna finish me off tomorrow?”

Both of you were grinning then.

“In your dreams, Y/N.”

***

The platform beneath you jerked to life but all your eyes could see were the puddles of blood everywhere. Your shoes were already drenched in it, the palms of your hands covered by it. You slipped on the blood so many times that your clothes were already camouflaged.

“Today I die,” you breathed out, ragged and scared. You knew you were right.

The music echoed in your head even as it quieted and the platform stopped. But you still couldn’t look away from all the blood, not caring anymore about the people around you.

“Two.” said the woman’s voice and panic began. You finally lifted your gaze, searching for Se-mi or anyone familiar but no one was around. People were screaming, dragging each other down, pushing, always pushing. And you just stood there, awaiting your unavoidable end.

“Come on!” There, a body appeared, and someone crashed into you with such force it was hard to stay on your feet. Hands grabbed your waist and with unbelievable strength half pushed you half carried you to the nearest unoccupied room. Only when your body connected with the floor and the doors locked behind you did you look up at the person who saved you.

“Tell me what you want from me.” Young-il or In-ho said, blocking the exit with his body, freezing you in place with those piercing eyes. So he has noticed, you thought, finding it hard to swallow, let alone speak.

“I know who you are.” you croaked and In-ho said nothing, but his laugh lines grew heavier.

“Do you?“ he asked after a while, his eyes sparkling. Was this just a game for him?

“Why didn’t you tell them your real name, In-ho?”

“What made you think you could talk to me like that?” You shivered at his words but your face remained impassable. Somehow, you weren’t scared of him, no. Just… curious.

“Same question.”

“You think I don’t remember you, right? But you’re wrong. The moment I noticed you here I knew exactly who you were, Y/ N.” It was hard to pretend that those words meant nothing to you.

“At least I don’t hide behind a different name.”

“It’s a precaution. Some of these people are criminals and if they recognised my name they wouldn’t be as happy as you to see me here, understood?”

Your cheeks reddened but that didn’t stop you from holding your ground. His gaze made you nervous and you started biting your lower lip.

“Would you stop doing that?” In-ho asked and you raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’re not the only one watching, Y/N.” he gave you a tentative smile.

Before you could say anything, the doors clicked and In-ho extended his hand to you as an offering.

“I can keep a secret… Can you?” A corner of his mouth curled up slightly and in answer you accepted his hand.

***

After you walked out of the room, the two of you didn’t speak until later that day in the dormitory. It was as if your roles switched - the whole day you felt his gaze following you wherever you went. It was driving you insane.

Thankfully In-ho approached you on his own, holding you by your elbow and gently leading you to a tranquil corner of the room.

“Stop staring at me to distract me!” you whisper shouted at him.

“Oh, I’m not staring at you to distract you.”

Again, the blush creeped into your cheeks. Flustered and ashamed, you looked away and bit your lip.

“I shouldn’t be here, you know.” he went on. His eyes were flickering from side to side, probably trying to see if anyone paid any attention to you.

“Well, I can keep a secret, can’t I?” you looked up at him from beneath your lashes, a spark in your eyes. A smile crept on his face but quickly disappeared.

“As soon as the lights go out today, the other team is going to attack us so they have more people voting tomorrow for the games to continue. You hide under the bed and be quiet, you understand?”

“Is this a trap?” you asked and stepped away, your hands starting to shake.

“Do as I say.” And that was that. With it, he meant to turn away, but you gripped his wrist.

“In-ho-“

“Would you stop doing that?” he retorted and moved his hand so it was him holding you. His knuckles were all white but he wasn’t hurting you.

“Doing what exactly, In-ho-“ before you could finish the sentence, the palm of his hand covered your mouth. Your nostrils were met with a musky and tangy smell.

“Don’t test me.” He let go of you and stepped aside. As he turned to go, he spoke over his shoulder: “When the lights turn off, come and find me. I’ll keep you safe.”

And somehow, no matter how dangerous this place was, knowing that you cannot trust anyone here, you trusted him.

***

“Light out in five minutes.” The woman’s voice resonated in the dormitory while everyone climbed into their beds. You sat at the edge of yours with shoes on, checking for the fifth time In-ho’s location. In your mind, you tried to blindly navigate your way and when you were finally convinced that you could do it, you loosened a deep sigh.

“Why so tense, Y/N?” Se-mi asked from the bed beneath yours. You climbed down onto her level and quickly checked if anyone was listening, before you whispered: “After the lights go out, gen under the beds. Trust me.” Thank god she didn’t question it, because you felt ridiculous enough for the both of you for even listening to In-ho. He didn’t have a motive to keep you safe. He had one to kill you, though. You were the only one here who knew his real name. You just didn’t know if it was information worth killing for.

“Lights out in ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight…” You looked around for the last time. The air was stale and tense. Your body started shaking immediately.

“Three, two, one.” The darkness fell like a heavy curtain. You quietly stumbled down the ladder, careful to make as little noise as possible. Your left knee nearly collapsed under you as you made the first step but you kept a firm grip on the railings as you slowly passed between the bunk beds. Two railings, you go right, tree railings, you touch the wall, you follow it into the corner, then four railings before you go left…. But it just wasn’t possible to move as quickly as required. You were three quarters in when hell was unleashed. The sounds of stabbing, screaming and gurgling filled the air but your legs refused to move. You were completely paralysed with fear.

Someone jumped screaming from their bed and stumbled into you. You fell with a yelp on the cold floor and tried to scoot under the closest bed, but someone was already there pushing you out, frantically repeating: “Get out, they’re gonna find me, you have to go!”

You scrambled on all fours and stayed as low as possible while crawling to where In-ho was supposed to be. You were such a fool.

There was a sudden kick to your abdomen and you gasped, pain resonating through your body. Someone tripped over you and fell with a scream, their hands trying to hold onto anything, which just happened to be your hair. You screamed with pain, blindly punching around yourself in a desperate attempt of defence.

“In-ho!” you finally screamed, not caring anymore if someone tracked you down because of it. There was so much noise that it didn’t matter.

“In-ho!” you kept on shouting as you got up and started frantically running in the direction you thought was the right one. You were starting to get desperate, your voice turning into a rasp, tears forcing their way out of your eyes.

Earlier, when you said that you were going to die that day, maybe it would actually happen.

Suddenly, a hand grasped your ankle and you were prepared for the worst. But when your name fell off In-ho’s lips, your shoulders sagged with relief and with a desperate cry you got on the ground and slid next to him under the bed.

“I thought I was dead,” you gasped out, hand on your racing heart.

“Well, me too if that calms you down.”

“It certainly doesn’t, In-ho.” you glared at him. He was looking at you in a strange way, something in his expression you didn’t know how to identify.

“What is it?” you asked, your stomach dropping. Was he actually betraying you? Or was he trying to kiss you? With that look on his face, you couldn’t say which one.

“Say my name again,” he breathed out, your breaths mingling. Suddenly, you noticed all the points where your body was touching his, your skin heating up at the contact.

“In-ho,” you mumbled and stretched out your hand to tuck a strand of his silky hair behind his ear.

“You have no idea what you do to me, do you?” In-ho looked at you with a pained expression.

“Not in the slightest,” you whispered softly against his warm lips as you kissed him.

[arosescrow]

Jace bolts upright in his bed, the sound of an alert pinging into his consciousness. He looks over at your bed, but your eyes are closed, and in a darkened room there's no other way to see you.

"Az?" he asks tentatively. Sometimes Maia could tell when things were going to go very wrong, and she'd let you know so you could prep your kit the day before and be ready to go. This was not one of those nights. You inhale one last time and exhale as you open your eyes. Jace yelps, scrambling backwards and hitting his head on the wall.

"Az, you asshole," he mumbles, "a little warning might have been nice."

"Whusgoinon," Maia slurred as she sat up, pressing the heels of her hands into her eye sockets like it would fix her. The alert was still going off. Someone should probably get that, you think. You let yourself fall from your bed, exhaling slightly as your feet hit the cold floor.

The sound of Jace's grumbling follows you into the short hallway. "....dumbass glowy....fuckin scared me man......still have nightmares..." He fades away as you enter the room where the alert is going off. Your eyes flicker as you take in the information on the latest attack.

Mid tier threat. Jace and Maia don't need you for this one but you still want to go. What if something goes wrong? They're closer than friends or family, the bonds that hold you to them forged in something longer holding than fire or shared danger. You turn on your heel and head to the kit room.

By the time Jace and Maia are ready to go, your expanded kit is nearly packed up. You convince them to let you tag along, pulling the trump card of that one time shamelessly. Out of the basement, into the tunnels, up a manhole, popping open a cover that looked exactly like any other manhole cover directly behind the third most reputable bank in the city. Robbery in progress, the only reason your team was called in in view through a window. Bright red business suit, hot pink tie. The horrible clash of colors was, surprisingly, not the most terrifying thing about this outlaw. The report had stated he was known as the Phantom on the streets, for reasons as yet unknown. An unknown threat could represent any number of factors from mind control to exploding paper cranes.

The Phantom had been in the area for some time, but could never be tracked back to a hideout or any such thing. Moreover, nobody remembered him or saw any trace of him on security cameras. The only reason your organization had any clue as to what was going on was a combination of street talk and a particularly lucky look into the future.

Jace and Maia nodded at each other and split up. Jace was already hitting some buttons on his wristpad. Maia's body morphed, muscles becoming ropier and face disappearing altogether. You couldn't see either of them anymore, at least not without a bit of adjustment and energy expenditure. A radio in your ear crackled. "Banshee, come in." That was Maia. Her codename was Banshee, for reasons that involved an unholy number of teeth. "This is Banshee, copy. Two this side, three in front. Status? Over."

The rest of your party is always making sure that you, the healer, stay in the back. Not because they don’t want you to get hurt, but because they all still remember the last time you took the front line and nobody wants a repeat of that.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Holiday request: single dad

Bruce admits that he is unsure of the seriousness of his relationship with Daniel Fenton. He had never meant to run into the man after the parent-teacher conference. Yes, his introduction had a breath of fresh air, but Bruce was not naive.

It may have all been a trick, and Fentong was merely waiting to try to get closer to him or his money later on. He has always been optimistic about the good in man's hearts, but Bruce is also familiar with the equal darkness there.

That's why spotting the man in a busy cafe was such a shock. Bruce had gone on a walk between meetings, wanting something sweet to tie him over for the follow-up one.

He walked into a random family-owned place with a spicy smell. Bruce had been browsing the menu when he heard the soft melody for Fairy Tale Ending by Dumpty Humpty. Looking around a pillar, he found Daniel Fenton bobbing his head to the music while tapping away on his old beat-up laptop.

The cashier sees him staring and smiles apologetically. "We don't usually have people here, so we let him play his music. If it bothers you, I can ask him to get his headphones on."

"Oh no. I actually like the band." He assures her, paying for his drink and dropping a ten in her tip jar. He glances at Fenton again, then points, "What is he drinking?"

"Gingerbread Latte and a chocolate croissant," She responds easily, and at that moment, Bruce knows she hasn't recognized him. Not that he expects everyone on the street to point him out in a crowd, but it does mean she won't take pictures of him.

She doesn't know the photos could get her some money from down-on-their-luck gossip rags. He considers Fenton a little longer before nodding at her. "Can I have a gingerbread Latte? The exact same as his."

"You got it."

Bruce doesn't know what urges him to approach Fenton with the two drinks- though the cashier giving him a wink might have clued him in and clears his throat just as Fenton gets to the chorus. Blue eyes blink up at him. "Oh, Mr. Wayne. Hi."

"Good afternoon," Bruce starts, which causes Fenton to snort. With good-natured humor, he grins up at Bruce, and Bruce feels his intrigue rise just a few notches higher.

"Good afternoon to you as well, milord." The man says, one hand over his chest, bending his neck a little in a mock bow. "Has thy golden carriage brought to thy to me?"

"Having a golden carriage is a privilege for only the Roayl family. My carriage is made of silver, I assure you." Bruce laughs, stepping closer. This is different from the cashier. Fenton knows who he is, but he simply doesn't care.

Bruce is merely Bruce to him instead of the wealthiest man in the city and the country. It's....well, it's liberating, like being reminded that there are good and wonderful things still left in life. If this is how Fenton makes him feel only after the second meeting, what else could Bruce experience if he formed a bond with him?

Fenton's eyes catch the extra drink Bruce holds, lighting up when the other man offers it to him. He accepts the cup, offering the chair opposite from him. When Brue sits down, he asks about what he was writing where. Fenton admits to being a fantasy novelist and moves the conversation to what they enjoy reading.

Bruce arrived late to his next meeting but felt lighter, and a phone number scribbled on the back of his hand just like when he was a teenager and traveling states away to attend Dumpty Humpty Concerts.

The rest, like they say, is history.

Danny had quickly become a part of his life. It was odd how giggly the other man made him feel. Danny was a good balance to Bruce's brooding. Ironically, while Bruce believed the best in humans, keeping a calm center persona, Danny was cynical and bubbly. He assumed people were terrible, but there was no reason to give them any mind, and he was unapologetic for being himself.

After their third date, Bruce has worked up the nerve to ask Danny to be his boyfriend, only to have the other man laugh. "I thought we were boyfriends?"

"I didn't want to assume."

"Well, aren't you a gentleman? Look at those soft hands. You've never seen a day of work. Gentle-handed man," Danny teased while watching the people around them. Bruce knew there wasn't any real danger, but Danny had a habit of watching their surroundings in public places.

He didn't like being caught unaware. Bruce thinks he's in love. The thing is, Bruce has thought that before, and every single time, his relationship had fallen through.

He had a hand in it, but that didn't mean his partners never broke his heart one way or another.

But this time, things would be different.

Dick had pointed it out when he ran into the two at the grocery store. Danny had invited him to help pick out dinner while Dani had been on an overnight field trip at the planetarium. His eldest had cornered him when he returned the next day, smiling widely.

"Danny seems excellent. He's like an undercover goth dating an undercover prep. You both are literally the opposite of each other and seem to like spending time around each other."

Bruce wasn't entirely sure whether it was a bad or good thing, but he was happy that his kids approved of him dating again. He did get a little nervous about Damian, only to find out his youngest had come to idolize Dani, and that only made him hope the relationship would work out even more.

He could see it now, Danny tapping away on his laptop while Dani painted next to him in the Wayne Manor yard- Both preferred to be in nature- on cozy weekends. His children crowding the breakfast table while Danny sang songs from bands he'd never heard.

Birthday candles are being blown out with the cheering family. Christmas mornings followed the candle lighting of Hanukkah on the previous eight nights. Graduation ceremonies that will bring Bruce to tears despite claiming he has trained too hard to do so. Boyfriends and girlfriends, the two could tag team into scaring while their children regretted ever bringing them over for an introduction.

Danny would be the last thing he saw when he closed his eyes before bed and the first thing he saw in the morning light.

Bruce wasn't sure how their relationship was going, but he hoped, oh, he hoped.

[quarterlifekitty]

(just had a gynecologist appt this morning and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much of a dog Soap would be about it)

he’d beg to watch or something like the perv he is

or maybe if we’re being really nasty:

gynecologist!Soap that only chose this profession so he can stuff his fingers into pussies all day :(( he doesn’t discriminate either, he likes all kinds of cunts!! Can’t have any pussy suffering or feeling sick on his watch (he’s a pussy pronoun user)

But he gets real excited when a pretty thing like you walks into his office, likes making you squirm and blush all awkwardly

don’t worry about it, bonnie, s'all part of the exam :3 he’s just checking if your g-spot is healthy!! There she goes, soaking his fingers and trying to suck him in deeper <3

You know there were a lot of boys who said that thing about wanting to be gynecologists in middle school and I will never forget my music teacher saying “you know that women usually go to the gynecologist when there’s something wrong with them, right?” And they shut the fuck up

Also I believe @/peachesofteal has a gyn!Price AU that I recommend you check out if you’re into that.

lol NO ONE walks into the obgyn and expects seeing a built dude with a Mohawk basically busting out of his scrubs and smiling at you with wolf teeth.

Also YES pussy pronouns. A staple of the 141, imo.

And this may be too freak nasty for you but uhhhm…. DentistsOffice!141.

CW: medical, dental, dubcon/noncon, obsession, somno

Obsessed with you and shoving their fingers in your mouth and against your teeth. Let’s be real Soap would love smelling your breath and every day is a constant battle for him to resist spitting in there right after he tells you to open wide.

Price and Nikolai looming over you, remarking on your oral hygiene, stroking the tips of your canines. Calling you a good girl every time you follow any instruction whatsoever— opening your mouth, rinsing with all of the mouthwash, moving your tongue out of the way. The way they praise your good care and tut when you’ve been slacking is insanely motivating

You know Soap is obsessed with the molds they make of your teeth (I know that’s orthodontic primarily don’t @ me). If he uses some silicon in the molds to take a little something home that’s his business iykyk

Gaz who’s the resident anesthetist. And you KNOW they always recommend general anesthesia for every fuckin minor procedure they can so you can be passed out and vulnerable under them. Gaz gently explaining what it’s going to feel like as you go under, telling you to keep counting as the mask gets secured over your mouth.

And if you insist you can’t go under general, you don’t have anyone to come with you or drive you home after, that’s ok. Their technician Simon is actually getting off his shift around when the procedure ends. He’d be happy to drive you home and help you rinse with saline, replace your cotton :) and if something else happens to slip in your mouth while you’re still all dazed and relaxed, what’s the harm?

And miraculously, your insurance (I know I look like an American rn don’t @ me) always covers the whole thing with no issue! They just call them up, and suddenly the copay disappears. So it’s no trouble to go often— you might as well take advantage!

[checkeredflagggs]

The Story of Us: Chapter 2

pairing: logan sargeant x famous!fem!singer

summary: logan and you have been keeping a secret from everyone but it might be time for it to come out

a/n: while I do my best on most of my works to be race neutral, this one is very very very self indulgent 🤷🏻‍♀️

a/n2: this is part 2 of 4/5, which will be released when they’re finished and I’m using pretty much everything from Taylor Swift

a/n3: I still don’t understand instagram so - no one but those that follow you can see a private accounts comments (even on a public post). Also I still hate twitter so I’ve replaced it with Bluesky.

a/n4: Also timelines? Never heard of them. This is set in 2024 but I’ve moved Miami to before Australia

a/n5: happy birthday Logan! The charles post is next but I wanted to get this out for Logan’s birthday!

a/n6: justice for debut and speak now

y/n_gossip

liked by user, user, user, and 12,383,483 others

y/n_gossip: breaking! Coming from unknown sources are apparently leaked photos from y/n’s private phone.

My questions are how was she hacked and who is the guy!

view all comments

user1: what a gross invasion of privacy!

↳user2: seriously! Celebrities are just people too and they don’t need people nosing into their business

↳user1: well said!

user3: mother? has? a? boyfriend?????

↳user4: what! who! when! how! WHAT???

↳user5: this is not what i expected to see when i woke up…

↳user3: right??? Its like looking both ways crossing the streets and getting shit on by a bird…

↳user4: …what???

user6: please do NOT tell me that crazy person is right?? I don’t think I could take it if they were right and it’s Logan Sargeant

↳user53: I think you might have to get used to idea that they were right

↳user19: ok that’s like really rude but I’m gonna ignore it because you’re agreeing with me

↳user7: ok but NO WHERE does it imply that this guy is Logan

↳user8: also where is it said that these photos are of y/n?? She’s been spending a lot of time with yoursister and yourbff

↳user7: more of a long shot but still possible!

↳user19: I’m gonna hold it over your heads for the rest of forever

↳user53: alright let’s roll it back now. Maybe wait to gloat until you’ve actually been proven correct?

↳user19:…fine

Private Messages, Logan and Y/N

f1gossip

liked by not_logan, not_oscar, user, user and 583,902 others

tagged: charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1, pierregasly, alex_albon, landonorris, georgerussell63

f1gossip: within minutes of the leak of y/n’s photos, several drivers had posted a collection of photos to their stories. Looking closely at them, the range of photos could be taken to mean that they were the guy in the photos with y/n (who people are speculating is her unrevealed boyfriend)

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user9: ummmm…this is not it guys 😂

user10: I didn’t think silly season was going to include drivers strongly implying they’re cheating on their girlfriends

↳user11: oh my god I didn’t even think of that

↳user12: just wait — give it a few days and the wags will be posting similar photos 😂😂

user13: the desperation radiating from these pics is incredible

↳user14: so is the second hand embarrassment

↳user15: so true. I’m cringing for them jesus

not_oscar: what??

↳not_logan: no

↳not_oscar: what the fuck is this

↳not_oscar: ew

↳not_lilyz: 🤣🤣

↳not_lilyz: ok but i need answers

↳not_oscar: oh ill get some answers alright

user16: ok but tagging them???

↳user17: so bold. I don’t think I could live after it

↳user18: it’s not even about me and I want to crawl under a rock and die

↳user17: big mood

Private Messages, The Grid (Unserious)

Private Messages, Logan and Y/N

williamsracing

liked by user, not_y/n, oscarpiastri, georgerussell63 and 2,234,123 others

tagged: alex_albon, logansargeant

williamsracing: watch as our drivers take on the Duracell RC Challenge and answer fan questions! Full episode out now

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user20: this is so cute!

↳user21: I know! It’s always so fun to see Logan and Alex clearly enjoy themselves

↳user22: it’s so good to see them smiling!

user23: ok but those questions???

↳user24: forget all the questions — I want to tattoo Logan’s look of mischief when he said cardio was his favorite form of workout

↳user23: oh my god I thought was just me who saw that!

↳user19: well if my girlfriend was y/n, cardio would also be my favorite workout

↳user53: I’m judging you

↳user19: but are you disagreeing with me?

↳user53:…no

↳user19: ha!

↳user23: …are you…flirting…on my comment thread????

↳user19: WHAT? NO. ABSOLUTELY NKT

↳user53: hahaha I don’t now what yours talking about

logansargeant: best media day so far!

↳alex_albon: I don’t know how you did it but I’m sure you were cheating

↳logansargeant: haha 😆 you can’t prove anything!

not_oscar: so we’re being freaks on main now?

↳not_logan: and what of it?

↳not_y/n: yeah don’t kink shame us oscie

↳not_oscar: oh i'm definitely doing more than that

↳not_lilyz: oh like you haven’t done anything freaky too

↳not_logan: ha!

↳not_y/n: thank you lily

↳not_oscar: really love?

↳not_lilyz: 🤭🤭

f1

liked by maxverstappen1, alexandrasaintmleux, oscarpiastri, pierregasly, and 15,273,273 others

tagged: y/n, y/n_nation

f1: …Ready For It? Y/N has arrived ahead of the Miami GP where she will be singing the national anthem to kickstart the day!

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user25: classy!

↳user26: she always is!

y/n: it’s an honor to have been asked! And the warm welcome from everyone and their teams have really made the day something special! 🩵

↳logansargeant: oh everyone has been very excited to have you in the paddock!

↳oscarpiastri: very excited indeed

↳charles_leclerc: Bienvenue au Grand Prix ! Vous êtes en effet un spectacle très apprécié à voir! “Welcome to the Grand Prix! You are indeed a very very welcome sight to see!”

↳pierregasly: C'est toujours un honneur d'avoir une jolie jolie fille qui vous attend! “It’s always an honor to have a pretty pretty girl waiting for you!”

↳user27:…I thought the desperation was over…

user28: god what a whore…useless too. Made it too hard to get tickets. Too many silly stupid little girls who don’t know anything about the sport got all the tickets just to see her

↳alex_albon: wow I didn’t know mouths could spew such shit

↳maxverstappen1: I wouldn’t worry about not being able to get a ticket 👍🏻 you’ve been banned!

↳landonorris: not only by the individual teams but by the sport as a whole

↳f1: well said drivers! user28 that is not the attitude that we support here in f1! We welcome (nearly) everyone to the Grand Prix’s whether they’re here to watch the race or to watch y/n!

↳user29:…shut down!

user30: my favorite part of today so far has been how stupid the drivers turned when y/n got close to them!

↳user31: there was absolutely no thoughts in the heads of the Ferrari men

↳user32: (or their girlfriends let’s be real)

user33: I wish someone had gotten close enough to the alpine garage…

↳user34: god I know! The Kelsey brothers were there and based on their faces whatever Pierre was saying was probably outrageous af

↳user35: well he’s publicly called himself a tripod so we know he has no shame

user36: Oscar’s look of disgust whenever Lando and Alex opened their mouths tho…

↳user37: oh he was going through it today

↳user19: Love how logan was just laughing in the background though

↳user53: well if you’re right, they’ve been together for years so he’s probably pretty secure in their relationship…

↳user19: if?!??

↳user53: THERES STILL NO PROOF

williamsracing

liked by not_y/n, georgerussell63, alex_albon, oscarpiastri, and 1,334,274 others

tagged: logansargeant

williamsracing: Logan podium! I repeat!!! LOGAN PODIUM

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user38: I never thought I’d see the day

↳user39: well damn that’s kinda really rude

↳user38: be so for real right now did you ever think Williams would podium? Let alone Logan??

not_y/n: yeah you’re gonna get the best head of your life tonight babe

↳not_logan: 🥵🥵🥵🤩🤩🤩

↳not_oscar: please for the love of everything keep that shit to yourselves

↳not_y/n: just say you’re jealous and move on Aussie boy

↳not_oscar: why am I friends with you again

↳not_logan: we really didn’t give you a choice

↳not_y/n: we grew on you eventually!

↳not_oscar: like mold

↳not_logan: boo!!

↳not_y/n: boo!!!

oscarpiastri: congrats Logan!

↳logansargeant: thanks man!

alex_albon: congratulations! Show them how it’s done!

↳logansargeant: you know it! But it’s your turn next!

↳alex_albon: 🙌🏼🙌🏼

jv.f1: congratulations

↳user40: what in the world is with this dry ass congrats???

↳logansargeant: thank you!

georgerussell63: Many congratulations Logan! It was great to finally share a podium with you

↳logansargeant: thank you George! Hopefully the first of many!

logansargeant

liked by not_y/n, oscarpiastri, alex_albon, and 778,445 others

tagged: williamsracing

logansargeant: P3 BABY! WE DID IT! THANK YOU EVERYONEEEEEEEE 🩵🩵🩵

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user41: CONGRATS LOGAN

↳user42: THATS OUR AMERICAN BOY

y/n: Congratulations Logan! You do Florida and Miami proud

↳logansargeant: thanks y/n! You must be my lucky charm though

↳y/n: Oh no that was all you!

↳user19: 🫵☝🏻🫵🫵🫵🫵☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻

↳user19: THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT!!

nicolepiastri: congrats Logan!

↳logansargeant: thanks Mom Piastri

↳oscarpiastri: and what of your actual son?

↳nicolepiastri: you’d like a congratulations for 6th?

↳oscarpiastri: well yes?!

↳nicolepiastri: hmmmm whatever you want sweetie. Congratulations on 6th

↳user43: I live for Nicole dragging Oscar

user44: such a great drive today Logan! Show ‘em what Americans can do!

not_y/n: possibility of you sneaking away before media to meet me?

↳not_logan: not likely

↳not_y/n: damn. Well just now I’ve made it back to our place and I’ve found a way to keep myself busy 😉🥵

↳not_logan: you can’t do this to me. Not right before I have to talk to Jensen and Nico

↳not_y/n: 🤭🤭🤭

↳not_oscar: or never. You can do this never

jensonbutton: congrats kid!

↳logansargeant: thanks jenson!

Private Messages

y/n_nation

liked by user, sabrinacarpenter, georgerussell63, zendaya, oscarpiastri, and 19,245,927 others

y/n_nation: Our bags are packed and the flights are here! Welcome to the Eras Tour!

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zendaya: what a wonderful night 🖤

↳tomholland2013: thanks for dragging me!

↳zendaya: you begged me to go?

alexandrasaintmleux: what a stunning show! Best night of my life!

↳charles_leclerc: what an amazing show y/n! Love your piano work!

↳user48: flirting with another woman right underneath your girlfriends comment??

oscarpiastri: fantastic time!

↳hattiepiastri: THANK YOH OSCSR!

↳not_y/n: glad you enjoyed yourself!

↳hattiepiastri: thank you for the tickets and the sweaters and the records!!

↳not_y/n: anything for my favorite Piastri!

↳oscarpiastri: you’re welcome 😑

alex_albon: by far the best concert I’ve been to!

↳lilymhe: thanks for taking me baby!

↳alex_albon: of course!

↳lilymhe: and thanks y/n for such a magical night 😘

↳user49: what’s with the weird flirting? What’s happening right now???

carmenmmundt: ¡Qué noche tan magnífica! ¡Gracias y/n! What a magnificent night! Thank you y/n!

↳georgerussell63: I loved every moment of it y/n!

↳user50: I see the desperation has found this post as well 😂😂

↳user51: so has the second hand embarrassment 🫣🫣

user52: I can’t feel my face or my feet but oh my god what a magical night

↳user54: absolutely worth it!

↳user52: definitely gonna be the concert of the year!!

Bluesky

[mrsbarnesblog]

one step at a time

masterlist

summary: after being rejected by you, the person who managed to catch Rafe's attention in a way no one else ever had, he goes spiraling into his addiction even more. you happened to be the only one who was able to pull him out of the turmoil in which he had buried himself in the last years.

words count: 6.5k

warnings: drug addiction, withdrawls, mutual pinning, angsty with happy ending

a/n: i've been writing and rewriting it since august and i still don't know whether i like the final result or not, so i'm ready for your feedback. aaaand happy new year to all of you, my precious followers. hope this one will bring you only the best💘

You felt your skin getting hotter under the intense gaze of a particular guy who had been starring at you whenever you two were in the same room. The one who was present in your head all the time, no matter how hard you tried to get distracted and convince yourself that it was not the person that you needed in your life.

Rafe Cameron.

He was in a circle of his so-called friends, mostly not paying attention to them and instead watching you. You didn’t know when it started to happen—when the looks that you gave to each other started to get longer and more frequent, when your eyes started to search around the rooms until they found what they wanted, when the small talks that you had during official Kook’s events became so awkward and nervous.

Your fathers worked together for a few years, so you weren’t friends, more like acquaintances who occasionally attended the same galas and parties, where you usually ended up in the same circle of people. And who, well, might have developed a secret crush on each other. 

The thing is, you didn’t know why you felt that way. Rafe was certainly not the nicest person on the island, yet you didn’t have a real reason to hate him either. He was a menace; he was spoiled and thrived on attention from others. But Rafe was undeniably hot, so damn attractive without even trying, and you just wanted him. Your whole body was gravitating towards him, no matter how you tried to get this bullshit out of your head. 

Still, you knew for a fact that no matter how much even his presence in the room affected you, seeing him do countless and countless lines at every party pushed you away from him more than anything else ever could. You were not the one to ever judge people for their addictions, but seeing many times what drugs did to people, you didn’t want to deal with it at all. Remembering the first time you noticed it, the first time Sarah cried because of how her brother became so reckless and that she was scared for him, a shiever ran down your spine. 

You excused yourself and left from inside the house when the air became to thick with the smell of smoke, alcohol, and sweat from people all around you and when your thoughts started to wander in the familiar direction. You found a semi-quiet space at the balcony on the second floor, but it didn’t take too long until someone else went there, as you heard footsteps approaching you. 

“What are you doing here alone?” You instantly turned around at the sound of Rafe’s smooth voice, only to catch him looking at you up and down with a gleam in his eyes. You heart raced, almost breaking out of your ribcage, while you tried to visibly not freak out.

“Nothing, just needed some fresh air.” You shrugged. “And why are you here?” 

“Honestly?” He chuckled, seemingly feeling nervous, as his right hand started rubbing the back of his neck. “I followed you.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, kinda wanted to talk to you alone for a long time.” He stepped closer, mostly looking at the floor and licking his lips. You didn’t know whether it was the chill air or the fact that Rafe’s presence had a weird influence on you, but you shivered. “You’re so pretty tonight, y’know? I mean, always. Thought I could ask you to hang out sometime. Like without shit tons of people around us?”

Your eyes followed the movements of his slightly trembling hands and the realization that he was high again made your heart sink. It were drugs speaking, you were sure that he wouldn’t have done it with a sober mind, so you just pursed your lips at the bitter feeling in your chest. 

Rafe was almost jittery, either from finally asking you out or the powder that was currently flooding his system — he didn’t even know that himself. He wanted to ask you out for ages, always thinking about the way you pulled his attention like a magnet, the way he craved you more with every passing day, but it seemed like there was never a good moment for that. 

“Rafe…” You breathed out his name, your eyes finally finding his. Pupils dilated, almost covering the pretty blue color, and the look so distant, weird, as if he wasn’t even fully there. “I can’t. This is wrong. I don’t want to do it like that.” 

“You-you’re looking at me. I know I’m not fucking crazy. You look at me the same way I look at you, don’t bullshit me, Y/N.” His eyes narrowed, his throat suddenly dry from the nerves and a hurting feeling of rejection. He stepped closer, which seemed like a way to intimidate you, but you weren't afraid of him, not even in this state of mind. 

“I’m not… denying it, okay? I like you, for some reason.” Your cheeks heated, and you started fidgeting with your fingers, but still looking up at him with seriousness and concern. “But I hate your lifestyle, Rafe. Say whatever you want, but this is not normal. You’re high even right now—I see it in your eyes. Will you even remember this party, me, our conversation the next morning?”

Was it anger that was bubbling inside of him right now? Or maybe agitation? Whatever it was, it hurt him deeply, more than he could admit. For the first time ever, Rafe actually, genuinely, became interested in someone, not with the intention of a meaningless hook up, but just because something was pulling him towards you. And, of course, he had to fuck everything up again with his dumb ass desicions. 

Who was he kidding, thinking that you wouldn’t care about the coke? You were possibly the sweetest person on the island, despite being a kook, and he had never even heard any rumors about you doing anything illegal. You were just the definition of a rich girl who enjoyed her perfect life on an island, hanging out with your friends, doing your hobbies, and never getting into trouble. 

Rafe just wanted to hit his head against the wall from the amount of mixed feelings and thoughts that his poor overstimulated mind was experiencing right now. 

“Rafe, please listen and understand what I say. I’m not rejecting you. I’m just saying that I can’t commit to anything if you’re not even fully there. If the situation was different, I would’ve happily accepted it.” His attention was focused on the floor, but from the way his jaw was clenching while you were talking, you knew that he was listening. “These people are not your friends, because they let you do that and they do not care. You should stop destroying your mind and your body with drugs while you can.” 

You tried to reach out to touch him, but he flinched. 

“Yeah, I–I get it. See ya later.” He mumbled under his breath, not even looking at you.

“Rafe, wait! Rafe!” You tried to call out, but he was already gone, mixing in the croud of people in the main room.

You pushed on the button on the doorbell for the third time, but it seemed like Cameron’s house was silent. Rafe’s truck was on the driveway, as was his red bike, so you knew that he must be home. 

After that talk with Rafe almost three weeks ago, you only heard about him and caught a few glimpses with his friends at Figure 8. People talked that he had gone even crazier than usual and that Shoupe arrested him twice. You were worried that it might be your fault, but just when you decided to catch Rafe the next time you see him, he vanished for the whole day. 

You had to call Sarah to ask what was wrong with her brother, making up a stupid excuse for your sudden interest, and the only thing that she told you was him not getting out of his room and acting weird.

Maybe it was a bad idea to come here uninvited when clearly no one else besides Rafe was home, or because you weren’t even that close, but it was too late to go back when you opened the front door and slowly went up the stairs to his room. 

You were in the house a few times already, when your families had their usual gatherings together, so you pretty much knew where you had to look for Rafe. You stopped in front of his door, unsure of your actions, but before you could run away like a child, your hand had already knocked on the door.

The soft groans and mumbling were heard inside, as well as the sound of the bedsheets and something falling on the floor. Your first thought about him having someone over there made your heart drop for a second, but another groan, almost painful, filled you with concern.  

“Get—get the fuck away, Sarah. T-told you a million fu-ucking times.” Rafe’s voice was hoarse, and it seemed like he was trembling with the way it shaked. You heard cussing and more groans. He did not sound like himself with those strange pauses and unusual sounds, which made the level of your worry skyrocket. What if he was doing coke in there, or maybe something stronger? His ego must’ve gotten hurt because of your rejection, and now he was putting that shit up his nose again. 

“It’s not Sarah, Rafe. Open, please.” You rested your head on the door, listening to the complete silence after your words. He was thinking—you knew that. He was trying to figure something out, and the fact that you didn’t know what was exactly happening frightened you. "Fuck, are you doing it again? I won’t go until you open the door. Rafe, this is not funny!” 

You didn’t expect to see what was in front of you. As soon as the door opened, another version of Rafe was looking at you. He was barely standing straight, gripping the side of the door for dear life, shaking like a leaf and sweating. His face was pale, with almost white lips and bloodshot, exhausted eyes. 

You gasped, covering your mouth with your hand, but stepped closer to take a hold of his face. He took something worse than cocaine. He’s high again. It’s bad. Your mind immediately went to a dark place, already feeling tears at the brim of your eyes. 

That’s when Rafe’s eyes met yours, and you froze in place. 

“You are clean.” You said, not asked, breathlessly. Tired, red, and slightly watery, but still clear, eyes looked right at you with a mixture of shame and relief. He licked his lips a few times, probably dehydrated, trying to stay focused on you despite feeling too sick to stand up straight. “Oh my god, Rafe, I thought—What's happening?” 

When he didn’t respond to you, with a new wave of confidence, you pushed him back into the darkness of the room, closing the door behind you and looking around. It was a mess, but no empty bottles, white powder, or random credit cards were seen, and you sighed with relief. 

Rafe was barely holding himself up. His body was fighting against him, craving that poisonous relief again. He swayed on his legs, suddenly feeling way too hot again, even though his skin was covered in goosebumps. It started to become more than he could handle, but another reminder that you were, in fact, right in front of him came in the form of your hands holding his face. 

Your soft eyes were searching for something in him while he tried to focus on your face. He thought that maybe he started hallucinating because, why else would you be there? Rafe leaned forward as his face curled in pain. You hummed in response, taking some of his body weight on yourself. Your hands stayed on his face, while his own trembling ones fell on your waist for some kind of support. 

At first, he thought that he was mad at you. After you rejected him, when he finally found power in himself to talk to you at that party, he was furious. He came back to his friends, immediately pulling out a plastic bag from his pocket and emptying it on the table in front of him. He inhaled more than he needed, hurt and angry from what you said to him. It blocked his mind for some time as everything around got muffled and blurry. His heart was pounding, his breath shallow, but his mind spun faster than he could keep up with. Every word you’d said echoed in his head, sharper and more painful each time.

It went on like that for some time, and at one point Rafe couldn’t even figure out what day it was. Everything was just a blur of parties, his coke buddies, and countless lines on every surface possible. It was bad, and at the back of his mind he knew that he was spiraling somewhere he wouldn’t be able to get out of, but then again, he had no one to try for. Ward didn’t care as long as Rafe didn’t cause any problems; his sisters gave him stares that he thought were either pity or disgust, as you... you weren’t there to fully see it all, so he did everything to prove God knows what, knowing damn well that it was hurt.  

The coke gave him fleeting moments of numbness, but it never lasted. The hurt always came back, heavier and sharper, gnawing at him when the highs faded and the quiet of his thoughts became unbearable.

It all was adding up, until one time Sarah caught him blacked out on the couch besides the pool. He still didn’t know whether it was a game of his mind or it happened actually, but he remembered her faint silhouette, sitting in front of him. She sounded like she was crying, but he wasn’t sure—too high to actually understand. What he remembers were her words, that surprisingly his mind was able to comprehend even in that state. “I thought you were gonna get better. I thought Y/N would be the one to pull you out of this.” Her voice cracked, a mix of sadness and disappointment that cut through the fog in his brain. “But look at you, Rafe. You’re worse than ever.”

Rafe’s vision blurred, though he couldn’t tell if it was from the high or the emotion clawing its way to the surface. He tried to move, to sit up, but his body felt like lead. He hated how vulnerable he felt in that moment, laid out in front of his sister like a broken mess.

“He cares about you, you know. She told me a long time ago how much she liked you. I know you do too. And you could’ve had it all if only you were able to get out of your own way.” Sarah said, her voice soft but edged with frustration. “But instead, you’re here, killing yourself slowly over something that you could fix. Or maybe you’re just too scared to try.”

“I’m not scared.” He gritted his teeth, groaning at the baanging noises in his head.

“Then prove it. Fix your life, Rafe. Until it’s too late.” 

He didn't remember what happened after that, but then he woke up with a more clear head, still confused and disoriented. Sarah’s words were hanging at the back of his head.

What was he even trying to prove? To you? To himself? He’d spent so much time running from the pain, from the rejection, from the fear that he hadn’t realized he was running in circles, destroying everything in his path.

Rafe stood shakily, gripping the back of the couch for support. His reflection in the sliding glass door caught his eye, and he barely recognized the person staring back. Bloodshot eyes, hollow cheeks, and a gauntness that hadn’t been there before. It was a version of himself he couldn’t stand to look at anymore.

He wasn’t sure where to start or if he even knew how to fix it, but he knew one thing: Sarah, once, was right. If he didn’t make a change now, it would be too late. Too late for you to ever see him as someone worth caring about again. Too late to prove to himself that he could be better.

Dragging a hand down his face, Rafe took a shaky breath. One step at a time, he thought, Sarah’s voice still echoing in his mind. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he could do it. He didn’t know if it would be enough, but for the first time, he wanted to try.

“It burns. I feel like my body is on fuckin’ fire. It’s in my veins. I can’t take it anymore, Y/N.” Rafe’s eyes flattered, and his breathing became heavier as another wave of heat washed over him. “I don’t wanna take coke again, but shit—-“

“You can, Rafe. I know you can. You’re doing so well. You have to fight it just a little longer.” You ran your thumbs over his cheeks and realized that he was way too hot. “You need to cool off a little. Can you take a cold shower? Can you do that by yourself?” You slightly patted his cheek until his eyes focused back on yours.

“You actually came?” His voice was hesitant, almost fragile, and a sad smile touched your lips.

“I did. I’ll help you, okay?”

“Mhm… Stay here? Please.” He almost begged, leaning into your touch and licking his dry lips again. With your touch still lingering on his face, Rafe stumbled into his private bathroom while you decided to prepare everything for him. 

After politely rummaging through the room, you found new bed sheets to replace the old ones. Then you quickly aired the room, brought a couple water bottles from the kitchen downstairs, and turned on only one light to not disturb Rafe and his sensitive mind right now. 

As you were cleaning up, you got lost in your thoughts about what had happened in the past few weeks. From Rafe asking you out, then seemingly going crazy because of your rejection, and now his attempt to quit drugs. Not that you didn’t believe in him, but he was so stubborn, and with the amount of problems constantly surrounding him, it wouldn’t be so surprising if he had just ignored you and continued living his own way. 

But you wanted him to get clean so badly because you hated the way coke was affecting him. You knew him for a pretty long time now, and you couldn’t miss the changes in his behavior after he started using. You wanted to see the real him, wanted to help him out, no matter how cliche it sounded. 

You hated that he was so careless about his own body and mind that he willingly put that shit up his nose again and again, thinking that it would change anything. You had feelings for Rafe, you did for a long time, no matter how many people openly said that he was a disaster and a big problem. One thing that you knew for sure was that if he really wanted to try, then you would support him. 

You heard the bathroom door creak open and turned to see Rafe leaning against the frame. He looked exhausted, his damp hair falling into his eyes, his skin pale but no longer feverish. He wore a fresh pair of sweatpants, the towel he had used slung loosely around his shoulders. His expression was a mix of vulnerability and shame, like he wasn’t sure he deserved the care you were giving him.

“Hey.” You said softly, walking over to him. “You feeling any better?”

He nodded faintly, his eyes meeting yours. “A little.” He admitted, though his voice was hoarse. “Thanks for… all this.”

You shook your head. “You don’t have to thank me. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Rafe’s movements were a little slower than usual when he came closer to you, as if he craved your presence around him. “Just made you a fresh bed. I also brought some water because you’re probably dehydrated. You should try to fall asleep, and I’ll stay here if you want to.” You softly smiled, not missing the way his eyes were glued to your lips, as if he were trying to understand you better. 

“Yeah—shit, I mean okay.” Rafe started breathing heavily again, shaking his head to clear the fog and trying to stop his hands from shaking. 

In a few minutes, you managed to get you both into his bed, with you sitting against the headboard and Rafe’s head comfortably placed on the pillow on your lap. He was facing you, so you could see the way his eyes were flattering while he tried to control himself. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You asked quietly, mindlessly running your hands through his long hair.

“Didn’t think that you would care about it, ‘cause you clearly said no to me.” He shrugged, while one of his hands sneaked under the pillow on your legs and touched your thigh. It wasn’t sexual in any way, but it gave Rafe some kind of comfort.

“I care about you. You are my friend.”

“I don’t wanna be your friend, Y/N.” 

You shook your head at his stubbornness, sliding your fingers down the side of his face. “I know, but we are. At least for now.” Rafe scoffed, tightening the grip on your thigh and trembling as another wave of chills washed over his body. “Sh-h. Remember, I didn’t say ‘no’. I said that I can’t commit to anything if you’re not fully here. It would be unfair for both of us. So now you have to get better, and then we’ll work from there.” His tired eyes met yours as if he were trying to understand whether you were serious or not. “When was the last time you used anything?”

“Yesterday morning.” 

“Mhm, so it’s your second day already. That’s amazing, Ray.” 

Rafe just hummed in response, his mouth suddenly feeling extremely dry. You made him drink some water, trying to convince him that his body needed to get rid of the toxins, and one of the best ways to do it was by drinking a lot of fluids. He was surprisingly obedient, just going back to his previous position with one hand on your leg and facing you. 

You two settled into a comfortable silence, both too lost in your own heads and thoughts. 

Rafe’s eyes didn’t leave your face. No matter how hard it was for him to focus, he studied your features that were perfectly illuminated by the small lamp. He looked at you countless times, always sneaking glances when no one would notice, but right now he thought that you looked the most beautiful. With a soft smile and eyes and slightly messy hair. 

Your hand that was brushing through his dump hair and then touching his face like a feather was almost too good to be true, making Rafe almost forget about the poisonous cravings and unusual reactions of his body. You, you, you—were the only thing on his mind. It was soothing and peaceful. It was calming the storm in his head, so Rafe didn’t want this moment to ever end. 

You mindlessly traced lines on Rafe’s face, just admiring the way he seemed to be calm and relaxed, as much as it was possible in his condition, and how it differentiated from the way he had always acted. Maybe it was stupid on your part to get closer with Rafe so easily, because, let’s face it, he could go back to his habits as soon as you stepped out of the house. Everyone around you constantly talked about him being the type of person who would never change to please somebody and who would never put his pride aside. 

But no matter how hard you tried, the boy in front of you, the one who looked at you with trust and unusual softness, made your heart beat faster. Your body and mind were screaming that you did the right thing and that he was worth saving, so you couldn’t just walk away and pretend to feel nothing. 

As you watched his eyes start to flutter with sleepiness, your own hands slowed down. With the wave of comfort that his company and the atmosphere of the room had brought you, you didn’t notice how you fell asleep. 

The next few days were rough for both of you, with Rafe trying to pull his shit together and not give up and with you trying to be as helpful as possible. He struggled a lot. You saw that pretty clearly, but what you also saw was how actually strong Rafe was and how determined he became to get through it. 

It was underestimating to say that your help and support meant everything to him. Your words of encouragement, your genuine kindness and willingness to help, your visits and time that you spend in his room—it all made it seem like the efforts were not worthless and that there was a reason to fight. 

After almost a week since the day you first fell asleep in Rafe’s bed, your relationship started progressing rapidly. You started actually getting to know each other, and countless text messages and phone calls were proof of that. 

He was feeling much better; the worst of the withdrawal symptoms had passed, and the fog in his mind started to lift. It wasn’t perfect, and there were moments where he felt overwhelmed by the weight of everything he had to face, but he was getting there. You could see it in the way he started to smile more often and how his voice had grown steadier on the phone; he became calmer and wasn’t always on the edge of snapping. 

Your attraction to Rafe grew rapidly whenever you saw the real version of him, the one that was soft and caring, brought up to the surface—the one that had been buried beneath layers of anger, frustration, and his addiction. The version of him that you knew had always been there but had been clouded for so long. It was these moments, the quiet ones when he was relaxed and open, when his vulnerability came through, that made your heart ache in ways you hadn’t expected.

Sitting on the porch at your house, you thought about Rafe and your time together, and your tummy fluttered with anticipation for what was yet to come. You saw that longing look in Rafe's eyes, and you weren’t one bit surprised because that night he clearly said that your friendship was not enough for him, but you hoped to move slowly. 

Even if your breath always hitched whenever he stepped closer or lowered himself to say something to you. 

Even if your heart skipped a bit whenever you saw a message with his name next to it. 

A notification from your phone brought you back to the present, and as soon as you saw Rafe’s text, you proved yourself right. Your heart skipped a beat again as a shy smile touched your lips. 

Café near the beach? My treat. I have something to show you

k, i’ll be there in fifteen

When you got out of the taxi, your eyes scanned the people sitting in the open area under the light of the setting sun, but you didn’t see one particular guy who started messing with your head in the best way possible. 

That was until you saw someone turning their head back, as if they sensed you standing there, and your mouth fell open in shock. 

You came closer as Rafe stood up from his chair with a smug look on his face, but your eyes were too hungry, taking him in, to even try to be respectful. 

“Your hair! Oh god, Rafe! How—why—when?" Your hand reached out to touch his freshly buzzed hair, rubbing it back and forth. 

“Texted you as soon as I finished. Just wanted to get rid of the past, y’know.” He shrugged, soft eyes studying your face that was way closer while you inspected his new haircut. “Don’t you like it?”

“It’s hot—I mean, you look hot. It suits you.” You stepped back, looking up and down, trying to memorize a new image. Rafe did look hotter. You suddenly noticed his sharp jawline, strong neck, and shoulders. Damn, he looked bigger. He looked healthier. With that spark in his blue eyes, smoothed, tan skin, and muscles... Oh god, you felt your face getting hotter as your eyes lingered on his arms way too long. 

How the hell did you miss his sudden transformation from being a frat guy to a rich golden boy? Was it the effect of his quitting drugs and finally drifting apart with his previous lifestyle and friends?

“It definitely does. Though I'll miss playing with them.” You mumbled, suddenly nervous and shy under his gaze.

“You think I look hot, hm?” He teased, placing a firm yet gentle hand on your lower back.

Touchy, but never overstepping. 

“Don’t you know that already?” You bit your lip to hold back a smile, placing your hands on Rafe’s upper arms and looking up through your lashes. You both felt that sudden tickling feeling running through your veins at the eye contact, and it made you both start smiling without any words being said. 

“A’ight, I think we should go get something to eat.” 

You were going around the people who flooded the beach house that you were currently in. With you constantly spending time with Rafe, your friends almost begged you to the party, only to leave you almost instantly as they got too interested in the experience of alcohol. Not that you were too upset about it, because you still asked Rafe to come with you, and he was more than happy to do anything for you. 

The music was too loud in the main room, and you went through the back door to an open yard that led right to the beach and was still full of drunk people, but at least there was some fresh air, and Rafe had already been waiting for you on the bench near the big wooden table with lots of drinks. 

You left him just for a few minutes just to use a bathroom, but when you stepped outside, you saw him talking to a guy that you had only seen around when Rafe was doing drugs. Your heart started beating faster at the sight of their obviously not so calm conversation, and you rushed closer to know what was happening. 

“Rare? What’s going on?” You stepped beside him, brushing your hand against his stiff back. “What do you want from him?” You pointed a finger at the guy whose name you didn’t bother to remember, and he just snickered back at you. 

“Nothing. It’s alright, sweetheart.” 

“Quit being a pussy, man. I have the best shit with me today. You’ll get high as a kite.” The guy completely ignored you, only looking at Rafe. You could physically feel the anxiety washing over you at the thought of it happening again, of Rafe just walking away with him right now and leaving you here alone. 

You tugged at his arm, trying to catch his attention. “Rafe, you promised. We should go now, please.” He looked back at you, nodding without hesitation and catching your hand to interlace your fingers. 

“Told you that I quit it. Go chase someone else, Hugh.” 

“Because of this bitch?” The moment this word left his mouth, Rafe’s hands gripped the front of Hugh’s t-shirt, backing him against the table and knocking over a few bottles. 

“Call her a bitch one more fucking time and I’ll knock off your teeth.” The guy lifted his hands in surrender, as Rafe was seething with anger, without a doubt meaning what he just said. 

You tugged gently on his arm again, trying to ease the situation. “Rafe, let’s just go, please.” You urged, your voice soft but firm, hoping to ground him before things escalated any further.

Rafe’s breath was heavy, his grip on Hugh’s shirt still tight, but his eyes were fixed on you now, softening at your touch. Slowly, he released Hugh, stepping back and running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, we’re done here.” Rafe muttered, his voice low and controlled, though the anger still simmered beneath the surface. You guided him away from the curious people, who were already whispering about the unfolded scene.

You sat on a wooden bench under a giant tree, with your legs thrown over Rafe’s and almost no distance between you two. It happened so instantly, so naturally, that none of you even thought about it. Rafe had his warm hands laying on your thighs and knees and rubbing your exposed skin in small circles, keeping his eyes down.

A silence lingered between the two of you, and while Rafe was too lost in his head, you took your time to admire him. You spent so much time together over the past month, not because you felt obliged to, but because it was simply amazing. Underneath all of those layers, you found real Rafe, the one who was teasing, who was funny, and the one who was super protective and incredibly caring.

You had never expected to be absolutely down for a man like him, but he was getting so much better with every passing day, never giving you a reason to doubt his intentions. Of course you didn’t forget Rafe’s words about him wanting to be more than your friend, and it lingered over your head every time you caught him staring at you. Though he had never rushed anything, wanting to have that natural bond between you grow stronger and only showing his hidden desires with glances full of admiration and with careful touches. 

Rafe’s head suddenly shot up, eyes clear yet narrowed. He smirked, seeing you already looking at him and subconsciously tightening his hold on your leg. He held eye contact for a few seconds, making a smile tug at your lips before he looked away, shaking his head with a deep chuckle. 

“What?” You half-whispered, suddenly feeling shy. 

“Do you even know what you’re doing to me?” You tilt your head slightly to the side, trying to hold back a smile, but miserably fail when he moves a tiny bit closer and all you can see, feel, and smell is him. “You’re like— I’m— Fuck, you made me stutter like a damn middle schooler…” He was completely infatuated by you, barely able to handle his violently beating heart.  

You couldn’t help but laugh softly, the sound warm and full of affection. The way Rafe was fumbling with his words, clearly flustered, made you feel something deep in your chest—a flutter that wasn’t just attraction but something more vulnerable, something you hadn’t expected to feel when you first started spending time together.

“Rafe…” You whispered, leaning in just a little, your voice low and teasing. “You’re so cute when you’re like this.”

His eyes darkened slightly at your words, the smirk on his lips turning into something more sincere, more tender. He took a deep breath, shifting so he was closer, his chest nearly touching yours. His fingers slowly and carefully traced the edge of your skirt, and the way his gaze flickered between your eyes and your lips made the air feel thick with tension.

“Don’t do that.” He said softly, his voice a mixture of amusement and longing. “I’m trying not to make this harder for myself.”

“Trying?” You raised an eyebrow, your teasing smile not leaving your lips. You knew exactly what you were doing, enjoying every second of his reaction. “You’re doing a pretty terrible job of it.”

Rafe exhaled sharply, his hand now resting on your waist, his thumb brushing back and forth slowly as if he were trying to steady himself. You could feel his breath on your skin, warm and erratic. He leaned forward just enough to close the space between your faces, his lips hovering over yours, but not touching. The energy in the air around you suddenly shifted, and you raised your hand to his neck to pull him even closer.

“I don’t want to rush this.” Rafe murmured, his voice low and serious, his forehead gently pressing against yours. “But god… you make it so damn hard to hold back.”

You could feel his heart beating against yours, the rhythm erratic but strong. You didn’t speak for a moment, simply breathing with him, caught up in the quiet intensity of the moment.

“You don’t have to hold back. I’m not going anywhere, Ray.” You said softly, your voice almost a promise.

And with that, the tension seemed to snap, the silent understanding between you both growing stronger. He finally closed the space between you, his lips pressing gently against yours, tentative at first, as if he were still unsure but desperate to feel you. And as the kiss deepened, as he pulled you closer to his body, you were completely lost. 

The kiss deepened further, his tongue gently coaxing yours into a slow dance. He was lost in you, the intensity of the moment making everything else fade away. The way you responded, so naturally, so eagerly, only fueled his desire. Rafe’s grip on you tightened, pulling you onto his lap, your bodies fully pressed together now, the heat of his body seeping into yours.

When he finally pulled back, his lips still brushed against yours, his breath shaky and uneven. He looked at you, his eyes full of something deeper than just desire—there was a tenderness, raw and vulnerable, something that had been buried beneath the walls he’d built around himself.

"Thank you." Rafe breathed out, his voice thick with emotion. "For being here. For helping me... through all of this. I don’t think I could have done it without you."

You smiled softly, licking your lips before speaking. “You don’t have to thank me. You should be proud of yourself for being able to do that.” You traced your fingers down the side of his face. “Just promise me you won’t stop trying if something hard happens, okay? You have me, and you have your sixers who care about you too.”

“Okay. I won’t. I promise.” Turning his head to the side to place a kiss on the palm of your hand that lingered on his face, Rafe pulled your body closer to him. There was still a lot to work on, but hidden away from other people, you finally savoured a quiet moment between you two, and for the first time, there was nothing but peace and warmth in both of your hearts. 

[anakinstwinklebunny]

the other anon inspired me and now id like to request hockeyplayer!anakin x reader please!

HOCKEY PLAYER!ANAKIN HEADCANONS

TW: at some point it contains sexual content, so if you're feeling uncomfortable with it, please do not read

Author's note: sorry Nonnie you waited so long‼️ I absolutely enjoyed and missed writing headcanons so give bun bun more 🗣️🗣️

Hockey player!Anakin who is definitely an ass/boobs man. He loves to watch your round ass in tight jeans where he can just put his hand inside one of your pockets, showing you off to entire school. When it comes to breasts he loves to have them in his hands, to feel them fill his palms, to feel their weight, to jingle them and make nipples hard, although I think he'd just stare blindly, like a starved man, at your cleavage if you had some more revealing shirt, of course in private since he wouldn't just ogle you in front of everyone

Hockey player!Anakin who made love to you after his hockey game;

Yet another thrust slipped from his hips - was way too smooth - swollen, shaky lips parting to exhale a moan. Sweat trippled down the edge of his curl, twirling around the wet hair before falling down his forehead

"Ani--" you mewl, before he understood the assignment and pressed his lips to yours, any sounds bubbling in your throat became swallowed by his tongue pushing against yours

“Fuck--still--so tight,” he rasped, flushed face burying in your neck. Damp curls tickling your skin, your ears following the vivid sound of skin slapping and wet sounds colliding “Missed you all game, couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

You whimpered, nails dragging down his back, catching on the fabric of his jersey. “Ani,” you choked, legs spreading wider, giving him new angle, to which he accepted; speeding up his movements

“I know, baby. I know,” he moaned, his cock filling you in ways that left you breathless, eyes rolling behind your head. “Coudlnt win this without you” his pace faltered. Hand curled under your knee, pulling it higher against his hip, other hand cradled your sensitive breast. “Youre my dream girl” he whispered “Always here for me, always mine, always cheering me on in this jersey of mine..so casually having my name on your back.”

Another kiss to your neck, which felt as if you were his only one oxygen. With each deep, slow thrust, he unraveled, moaning into your neck

“God,” he groaned, voice breaking as he kissed you again, softer this time, sucking on the spot. “the best celebration ever”

Hockey player!Anakin who always has messy hair with that one curl falling over his brow

Hockey player!Anakin who took you skating;

“C’mon, babe, just relax. You’re doing great--you haven’t fallen yet,” voice teasing yet encouraging.

“Exactly… thanks to this railing,” you muttered, your baby steps on the ice resembling a cautious toddler.

A soft chuckle escaped his throat as he watched you grip the railing like it was the only lifeline. Despite your clear anxiety, he found your determination charmingly cute. He took a step closer, placing his hands gently on your hips

“You’ve got to ease up a little. Can’t you feel how shaky your legs are? You look like a baby deer trying to stand for the first time,” he joked, a warm smile spreading across his face.

You gasped as your skates slipped slightly, your grip on the railing tightening instinctively.

He couldn’t help but laugh, watching the panic in your eyes as you fought to keep your balance. There was something undeniably endearing about your vulnerability, and he secretly relished the moment. Moving behind you, he positioned himself closely, his hands firmly yet gently holding your hips to support you.

“You’re holding onto that railing so tight, I think it might leave a dent,” he teased, fingers brushing lightly along your sides.

“No, no, no!” you exclaimed, voice rising in desperation as he nudged you away from your only source of stability.

Another laugh escaped him, a mix of amusement and affection, as he noted the startled look on your face. It was irresistibly cute to see you so flustered. He tightened his grip on your hips, speaking softly, “I’m right here. I’ve got you. Just glide slowly.”

“I hate you so much,” you muttered, taking a hesitant glide forward, your legs trembling beneath you.

“It’s okay, baby…” he soothed, hands steadying you as you made your way across the ice. "I forgive you" another joke slipping through his lips

“You’re doing wonderfully tho” he reassured, though the smirk on his lips betrayed how hard he was trying to suppress his amusement at your plight.

You clung to his arm as if it were your next, only lifeline.

“Relax,” voice a soothing mix of humor and warmth “I promise, you’re safe with me.”

“We won’t fall, right?”

He couldn’t resist the smirk that spread across his lips at your anxious question. There was a playful urge to tease you just a bit more, knowing how nervous you were.

“Well, that depends…” tone light and playful. “I won’t fall because I can skate, but you… well, you might be a different story.”

“Just--shut up!” you shot back, the irritation in your voice only making him laugh harder. He found a twisted satisfaction in your struggle, knowing it was all in good fun.

With a sudden surge of affection, he pressed a quick kiss to your cheek, unable to resist the sudden impulse.

“Ani, you’re distracting me,” you murmured, gaze dropping to the ice, a frown adorning your lips.

“Sorry…” sparkle in his eyes betraying the amusement. “But seriously, you’re doing amazing.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, barely containing a chuckle. It was hard to hide his delight in watching you tackle something so simple yet, for you, so challenging. He gave your sides a gentle squeeze, a teasing smirk returning. “See? You’re not slipping as much as you think.”

Hockey player!Anakin who's definitely into hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows (optionally)

Hockey player!Anakin who, when he's going to sleep, is all tucked to his ears under a duvet. He can not sleep when he's not perfectly, comfortably curled. You'd definitely became his teddy bear, curled with him as well if you're sleeping with hi

Hockey player!Anakin who gave you his jersey with his name and number on your back, so everyone would know you're already, happily taken

Hockey player!Anakin who sometimes ended the game with bruised nose after getting into a fight

Hockey player!Anakin who you tease about the exercises he does with his teammates before the game, on the ice..that leave small room to imagination

Hockey player!Anakin who keeps his hand in your pocket..on your ass..while walking with you through school's halls

Hockey player!Anakin who loves roasted and salted corn

Hockey player!Anakin who can be such a dramatic baby girl on the ice;

After every game, if he’s tired, he’s a full-on dramatic baby. “Baby, they were trying to kill me out there,” he’d whine, flopping face-first onto the couch. “You have to kiss me better. You don’t even understand how rough it was.” And you’re rolling your eyes, but also kissing his bruises because, let’s be real, he’s your dramatic baby girl, and you adore him

If he gets called for a penalty, he rips his helmet off and runs his hand through his tousled curls, looking like a damn runway model as he skates to the penalty box. He mutters to himself the entire way, throwing the refs exaggerated “Are you serious right now?” looks.

TAG LIST: @kingdomhate @divineani @haydensprettyprincess @skyguys-princess @catnipaddictt @heartscone @haydensbbg @inneedsoffanfics @jediavengers @literally-izzy @anisluvrgirl @slutforfinnickodair @xhunnybeeex @fuckmyskywalker @gallerygourmet @deceptiive @ysrjune @anakinskwkler @bimbo-baggins17 @cookybananas @emotionallybruisedx @diorvalentina @sevinax @throughparisallthroughrome @aniiuv @ritosparty @ninastyless @lily-strnlo @thesassypadawan @awhhayden @sydkneez @anisangeldust @l1ttle-misssunsh1ne

[woso-story]

Alexia's Soft Side

Alexia Putellas x Reader

It was a quiet Sunday morning, and the soft hum of Barcelona's streets filtered through the open windows of your shared apartment. You were in the kitchen, brewing coffee, when Alexia’s phone buzzed on the counter. She was still in bed, relishing the rare chance to sleep in, so you glanced at the screen. A text from Irene lit up:

You smiled, already picturing Alexia with Irene’s baby boy. There was something magical about watching her with kids, a side of her so tender and unguarded that it never failed to take your breath away. You quickly typed out a reply, knowing Alexia wouldn’t mind.

"Any chance you two could babysit Mateo today? Just for a few hours. We have some errands to run."

By the time Irene arrived with Mateo a couple of hours later, Alexia was awake and lounging on the couch in sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, her hair tied up in a messy bun. She sprang to her feet as soon as Irene walked in, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the baby.

"Of course. Bring him over whenever."

"Hola, Mateo!" Alexia cooed, reaching out to take him from Irene. Mateo, all round cheeks and wide, curious eyes, gurgled happily as Alexia held him close.

Irene handed over a diaper bag and gave you both a quick rundown of his schedule. "He’s been teething, so he might get a bit fussy," she warned, though Mateo seemed perfectly content in Alexia’s arms, grabbing at her hair with tiny fists.

"No problem," Alexia said, her voice softer than usual. She kissed the top of Mateo’s head, and your heart gave a little flutter.

After Irene left, the three of you settled into a relaxed rhythm. Mateo crawled around the living room, exploring everything within reach while Alexia stayed close, ready to catch him if he got too adventurous. You watched from the couch, sipping your coffee and marveling at how natural she looked.

"Look at him go," Alexia said, laughing as Mateo attempted to climb over her leg. She caught him gently, lifting him into the air, and Mateo let out a delighted squeal.

"You’re good at this," you said, setting your coffee down and joining them on the floor.

Alexia glanced at you, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "It’s easy with him. He’s so... uncomplicated," she said, her voice tinged with affection.

You watched as she held Mateo close, pressing a kiss to his chubby cheek. It was rare to see her like this—completely at ease, her usual intensity replaced by something softer. Alexia was always so focused, so serious about her responsibilities, whether it was on the pitch or in her personal life. But with Mateo, all of that melted away. She was playful, relaxed, and undeniably sweet.

---

When Mateo started to get fussy, Alexia took him into the kitchen to prepare a bottle. You followed, leaning against the counter as you watched her work. She held the baby in one arm while using her free hand to warm the milk, her movements precise yet gentle.

"You’re a multitasking pro," you teased.

Alexia chuckled, shaking her head. "You have to be with kids, no?"

Once Mateo had his bottle, he settled down again, his tiny fingers clutching Alexia’s hoodie as he drank. She sat on the couch with him cradled in her arms, her eyes fixed on his face with an expression so tender it made your chest ache.

"You’d make an amazing mom someday," you said softly, sitting down beside her.

Alexia looked at you, her lips curving into a small smile. "You think so?"

"I know so," you replied. "Look at you. He’s completely at ease with you. And the way you look at him..." You trailed off, feeling a lump form in your throat.

Alexia’s expression grew thoughtful. "I’ve always wondered about that, you know," she admitted. "If I could balance it all—the career, the responsibilities... a family."

"You could," you said firmly. "You’re the most capable person I know. And when the time comes, you’ll figure it out, like you always do."

She leaned over, resting her forehead against yours. "You’d be part of that family, right?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course," you said, your voice steady despite the whirlwind of emotions in your chest.

---

The rest of the day passed in a blur of simple, joyful moments. Mateo fell asleep in Alexia’s arms while you read a book aloud to her, the soft rhythm of your voice filling the room. When Irene came to pick him up, she took one look at Mateo’s peaceful face and smiled.

"You two are naturals," she said.

After Irene left, Alexia wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you close. "You were amazing with him too, you know," she said, pressing a kiss to your temple.

"You think so?" you asked, leaning into her warmth.

"I know so," she replied, echoing your earlier words.

And as you curled up together on the couch, the apartment quiet once more, you couldn’t help but feel like you’d gotten a glimpse of a beautiful future—a life where the two of you weren’t just partners, but a family.

[diaferia-dhades]

Wedding Ring

Pairing: Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel, Sylus x MC (separately)

Warnings: Fluff, (Sylus may or may not unalive someone)

Preview: How would the LADS react when they couldn't find their wedding ring?

Xavier Distraught and upset type

☆"I didn't go anywhere? Where could it be?" He talks to himself while searching his entire room.

☆After half an hour, the entire bedroom is flipped upside down He is determined to find the wedding ring, retracing his steps.

☆ Try to find the wedding ring before you notice he isn't wearing one. When you did notice, you would have to calm him down and comfort him. "I'm sure it's somewhere in this room. Do you remember if you were wearing it yesterday?"

☆Found the wedding ring wedge between the mattress and the bed frame.

☆He immediately would get his ring resized so it'll never slip off while napping.

Zayne Calm, the I-always-put-it-at-the-same-spot type

❅Because of his job, he is required to take off his jewelry, including his wedding ring while on duty. He always put the ring in one spot and one spot only. Right after his shift ends, he always puts on the wedding ring before going home.

❅Some days he got so tired that he would forget his wedding ring in his office. Then he would go retrieve it whenever he could.

❅However, there had been a couple of days where he completely misplaced his wedding ring. That happened so rarely.

❅He just retraces his steps and looks for it, organized and carefully.

❅He is definitely the type that knows to take off his rings and put them in a necklace when he knows he might lose them, such as going on snowboarding.

Rafayel The full-on panic type

｡ﾟHe has his own type of being organized. Although things seem disorganized, he knows where things are supposed to be.

｡ﾟHowever, there are times when he is so engrossed in his painting, that he puts things where he won't be able to find them.

｡ﾟThe entire studio is flipped upside down. He would walk around, panicked, trying to retrace his steps but failed to do so. Most definitely on the brink of a mental breakdown

｡ﾟYou end up having to calm him down and find it with him.

｡ﾟThe ring is on in his pocket the entire time.

｡ﾟThis definitely would happen more than once. You'll have to keep a mental note of where he put down his ring and remind him constantly.

Sylus The Don't-Worry-I-Put-A-Tracker-On-The-Ring type

𓄿He never lost his own wedding ring before. It stays on his ring finger, always and forever.

𓄿There are some times people try to rob him, considering how big and luxurious the ring is, hoping they would make some big bucks from it. Most of the time, they are unsuccessful.

𓄿However, there are very few times where someone successfully stole his wedding ring.

𓄿He doesn't panic. He already has a tracker on the ring. He just follows where the tracker takes him.

𓄿Would probably (x_x) the person who stole his ring.

[revelboo]

Yesss! Thank you so much for the Insecticons! You even did Shrapnel’s voice (I’ve been disappointed before lol 😔). Can’t wait to see the human get their four-way gangbang coronation-

Meanwhile reader really doesn’t want the coronation or to be dinner

You (Don’t) Know Me Pt 2

Insecticons x Reader

• Running headlong, branches claw at your hair and arms, scrape painfully across your face. More than once, you bang into trees, eyes struggling to adjust to the dark, but unable to stop running even for a second. Not when you can hear those things crashing after you, your own gasping breaths too loud in your ears. A screech and you change directions, shoulder slamming into a tree as another one comes out of nowhere. You have only an impression of size and that fiery red glow of optics as you scream and keep moving, feeling claws snag the back of your shirt, your feet momentarily leaving the ground before the material rips and you’re stumbling, clawing upright and running again, mindless with terror.

• Almost. Hearing Bombshell’s chittering laughter as you manage to escape his grasp, Kickback grins. Because you’re making them work to capture you, refusing to just submit to them. He’d known when he’d caught your scent that you were what he’d hoped for. Singing out to make Shrapnel hiss, Kickback watches you change directions at the sound. In the trees, you’re small enough to have the advantage, but he’s been here before and knows you’re about to run out of cover. And then you’re his. Theirs. A sweet little treat to claim.

• Lunging for you, Shrapnel’s shoulder bumps into Bombshell’s. The high from the hunt spinning him tight as he tries to be the one to capture you. Knows Kickback’s enamored with the idea of a soft little queen for their small hive, but he’s not entirely sold on that. A toy, though? Or a snack? Hissing as you break from the trees into the clearing, moonlight silvering you, and for a moment, he understands Kickback’s fascination with humans. You look like you’re made of moonlight, unreal almost. Sees the moment you spot the old cabin and head straight for it. But there’s a scent lingering in the area that hasn’t been there before, one that jangles through him dangerously. “Catch the human now, now,” he urges his brothers.

• Eyes burning with tears, you run for the cabin up ahead. Maybe there’s someone who can help you? Maybe you can hide from whatever’s chasing you inside? There’s a bigger shape beside the cabin, a big shadowy lump that you think might be an RV. “Help! Somebody help!” You scream and then that big shape moves. Two glowing eyes opening as something massive stands up, limned in moonlight. Skidding and falling on your hip, your pursuers catch up. Demonic shapes crouched around and over you as that bigger shape takes a lumbering step your way and roars.

• “Grimlock,” Bombshell snarls as he crouches, swapping to his alt mode as his brothers follow suit. Aware of the little human laying in the grass and that he’s not losing you to a dinobot after working so hard to claim you. Hissing, he attacks. Grimlock is bigger and stronger, but slow. Massive jaws closing on air again and again until Kickback screams out in pain. Shrapnel unleashing his pent up electricity in retaliation. Knowing they can’t win against the dinobot, only hope to discourage him from pursuing. Turning to flee, he hisses when Kickback lurches after the human who’s back on their feet and running back into the woods.

• Something snares your leg and you scream as you go sprawling in the leaves and dirt. Feel something grab you by the back of your shirt and then you’re being dragged off into the woods, the thing that has you hissing softly. Struggling to get free, you see the cave and grab at trees to try and stop yourself from being pulled inside, knowing that if you’re dragged in there, you’re not coming back out. Too terrified to scream, barely able to breathe as you’re pulled inside despite your struggling. See the other two monsters lingering at the opening watching. The moonlight filtering through the trees painting an unpleasant picture. Giant bugs with glowing optics. Monsters. “Best hope he doesn’t get hungry, hungry,” one hisses as the one with a grip on you drags you deeper into the darkness.

• Lingering at the entrance to the cave they’d dug out to have a place to escape the Decepticons if need be, Shrapnel watches Kickback drag you into the corner where he’d been collecting soft things to sleep on. Injured as he is, it’s entirely possible Kickback might eat you while he and Bombshell are stealing energon to help him self repair. But then if he does, they can always find a new toy. Even if you were a good hunt. Only getting captured because Grimlock had startled you. And he’d wanted to see how long you could go before you collapsed and submitted to them. A pity.

Previous

I’ve bought from both of these sellers on EBay. CollectIconInc ships fast from the U.S. Yaked50 ships from China and takes… a lot longer than anticipated to ship, but I’ve bought harder to find Blokees from them without an issue. I ordered the new wave 6’s that aren’t released where I live yet from them.

[eyra]

stuff what I have learnt about writing good

If you've followed me for longer than two minutes then you'll likely know (because I keep going on about it) that I've been working on a novel for the past year. It's always been a dream of mine to write and publish a book and whilst I still have a long way to go before I can even start thinking about querying (whether on this book, or the next, or the next, etc.) I suppose I can now say that a book Exists. I have written A Book.

Now whether or not that book ever sees the light of day, the process of writing it has been truly eye-opening. I went in knowing virtually nothing and came out, still with a huge amount to learn, but with a whole library of tools that I didn't have before. I'm now putting these to use with the first draft of my second book and already the process feels so much more enjoyable, because I've started to figure out how to make it work for me.

I wanted to jot down what I've learnt purely for my own reference so I can keep looking back and reminding myself what worked for me first time around, but given that I get a nice number of asks picking my brain about my own writing process, I thought I might as well share all this with you lot in case there's anyone out there who finds it useful!

So here are the big things that I've learnt so far...

1. Not every trick works for every writer

This has been, by far, my biggest learning. Starting to plan a novel for me felt SO overwhelming - I felt like I was bombarded on all sides with "this is how to write a novel" content, and it felt like there was just too much to learn and like I would never find my way through it. I spent weeks (months...) doing every worksheet, every outlining method, every chart, anything I could get my hands on. Some of them, by the end, proved themselves very useful. A lot of them didn't. There are thousands of voices online that are telling you "this is the right way to write a book" or even "this is the ONLY way to write a book" - don't listen to them. Try things, but don't feel like you have to fit yourself into every single box. Just find the things that work for you.

2. It's possible to overplan

On a related note - sometimes you just need to start writing. I spent WAY TOO LONG faffing about before I put pen to paper with my first book. So, so long planning out characters and plot points, a lot of which I then had to completely reimagine mid-draft because I realised they just didn't work anymore. In hindsight, some of this was down to me being scared to actually start writing - the planning stage was a bit of a comfort zone for me, despite not naturally being a plotter/architect - I have always always always been a pantser/gardener, but I got sucked into the whole "proper authors do it THIS way" narrative.

With my second novel, I did a nice amount of planning but then just bit the bullet and started drafting. I know where my story begins, ends, what my major themes are, I know all my main characters and I know my key plot points. The rest, I'm figuring out as I draft. If nothing else - I'm having a lot more fun this time around.

3. Think about voice and tense before drafting

Yeah duh obvious right? NOT TO ME. If you were following me around April time, you may have witnessed a series of minor breakdowns when I realised that, having written a whole first draft in third person present tense, the entire book should actually have been written in first person past tense. So that meant, basically, starting over from scratch. This was a big learning for me, and not a mistake I'm likely to make again.

4. Stop looking at your word count

For someone who's never really put much thought into word count before - my approach with fanfiction has already been "it'll be as long as it'll be" - I got OBSESSED with the word count of my first couple of drafts. A lot of people will tell you that any good novel "has to be" under 100k words. I constantly see this one post on Pinterest that says "I promise you that you can tell the story you want to tell in 100k words or under." I'm definitely no expert on this (and I'll eat my words when an agent tells me my manuscript needs cutting down), but I'm sceptical - a lot of stories can and should be under 100k words, sure, but most of my favourite books are much longer than this. However, I did get stuck in a "this manuscript has to be between 70k and 100k words" mindset and felt like a failure whenever it was sitting outside of that bracket. Also - keep your genre in mind. If you're writing a rom-com, 70k could work perfectly. If you're writing fantasy, you're probably going to go over that.

5. Know whether you're an overwriter or an underwriter

And related to the above - know whether you tend to write bare bones-style then add to it, or whether you tend to dump it all on the page then cut back later. I'm the first, and I knew this, but I still panicked when my first draft was only around 70k. I felt like it was rushing through the plot at an unreasonable pace and it didn't feel "finished". This was because it was a first draft. By the time I sent my manuscript to my beta reader, it was around 126k.

6. The dumb stuff works

The title of the document for my first draft was "XXX - worst possible version" and at multiple points during the drafting process I changed the font to Comic Sans size 48. It works. Completely takes the pressure off and gives you full permission to write big, write silly, write unhinged, write mad things that you'll cut back by 90% later. But it gets it all on the page. If you're stuck or cringing at yourself in Times New Roman size 12, try Comic Sans size 48.

7. Don't compare your first draft to your favourite book

Like an idiot, I did this. I still find myself doing it. It's possibly my worst writing habit. I'll type out a page at 11pm after a full day at work and no dinner and then I'll pick up a published book and think "ah man, the page I've just written is nowhere NEAR as good as this." Published books are fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh drafts that then go through months and months of editing. Do not compare your manuscript to a published book. Just don't do it.

8. Don't try to be That Author

Good writers are good readers. Absolutely read broadly, read deeply, just read. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, everything. And it's fine to find yourself influenced by other writers - that's how writing works. But don't try to BE other writers. One of the issues I had to unpick last year was that I was reading a lot of authors whose writing styles are very different to my own. I know my own style fairly well by this point - fanfiction's a great sandbox for figuring that out - but at certain moments during my editing phases I found myself cutting away at my prose because it felt "too different" to the books I was reading at the time. This was a weird thing for me to have done, and I went back and fixed it later.

I think what I'm trying to say with this one is: take inspiration from everywhere, let yourself be influenced by different writing styles, but find your own voice and trust it. Literature already has a Sally Rooney and a Donna Tartt and a Leigh Bardugo. It doesn't need a clone - it needs you!

I'll finish by sharing what I've found to be the most useful plotting template. This obviously isn't the total extent of my planning process by any means, but after trying about a million different plotting techniques for my first manuscript, this is the one:

The 27 chapter method (more examples here)

And finally, two little character tricks that I find invaluable:

AITAH?

Character philosophy

I hope someone out there finds something useful in this post! Although I've been writing in some capacity since I was a teenager, 2024 was definitely the year I realised that I am a writer at my core. I want to be a published author, but I'm already a writer. It brings me happiness like nothing else in the world! And I love to talk about all aspects of writing, so my ask box is always very much open.

Happy scribbling! x

[mrs-elsie-barnes]

Cariad | Werewolf!Bucky Barnes x Fae!Reader | One shot 2.3k

After a forced night out with your fellow fae ‘friends’ ends in a trail of your fairy dust, it’s your werewolf roommate who takes the blame.

Warnings: 18+, mentions of violence, blood, bad friends and bad ex boyfriends. Bucky is a cutie pie puppy (werewolf) and reader is a fae with wings.

A/N: Very loosely based on the story of Beddgelert. Cariad - darling in Welsh. 

Dividers by @firefly-graphics and @saradika-graphics

Masterlist | Bucky Barnes

“Come on, you can’t stay cooped up in your flat all night.”

Your friends pounded their fists on the door of your apartment, calling through the keyhole and begging you to come out with them.

Friends might be too generous, women who also worked at the shitty diner down the street and also happened to be fae was more accurate. That seemed enough license for them to come and bother you, but it was never quite enough for you to really open up to them or for them to offer you a place to stay when you left your disgusting ex, John.

“I don’t want to, I’m fine here,” you shouted back, lounging against the arm of the sofa, your feet in your roommate, Bucky's, lap and a bowl of popcorn on your own. You tossed a kernel across to Bucky and he caught it with a snap between his preternaturally sharp teeth. You giggled and he grinned, flashing his long canines, before returning his attention to the terrible reality show you were both watching. 

The two of you had been watching the series from the start and had become increasingly close over the last six weeks since you moved in. Bucky always made sure you had popcorn, a blanket, which he spread over your legs, and something fun to drink, either a cocktail, a glass of wine or, one week, a huge hot chocolate covered with marshmallows.

Despite your reservations about moving in with a were, he was really a lovely roommate. He kept mostly to himself apart from your TV nights, which you looked forward to more and more, enjoying the feel of his warmth so close to you, the heady scent of his musky cologne and his ringing laughter that always made you smile.

 In fact the only downside seemed to be that he shed hair like a large dog, but then you left fairy dust everywhere so it worked out evenly in the end.

Plus after living with John and his volatile nature, being able to predict Bucky’s mood around the moon cycle was actually more reassuring than scary. You’d expected him to be grumpy, snappy, even a little mean when the moon was full, but instead he just stuck around the flat and, if anything, was friendlier, touching your elbow or the small of your back, brushing his leg against yours on the sofa and, as he was now, massaging your feet after a long day at work. His instinct was to nest and seek comfort, following you around like a lost puppy, a huge, muscular, lost puppy.

“You can go out if you want, doll, don’t stay in on my account,” he said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Bucky liked to stay in around the full moon. It wasn’t that he was dangerous as a wolf, he could still control himself, but everything felt so much…more. He was always a little more territorial when the moon was at its fullest, seeking the comfort of a familiar space and, increasingly, wanting to make sure that you were protected.

In reality, he’d have liked to keep you exactly where he could see you and keep you safe, but he’d never been the kind of guy to trap someone like that. He liked seeing you smile. If going out made you smile, then he’d try and suck it up… okay, he’d be a grump, but he certainly wouldn’t be letting you know that, even if it meant you wouldn’t be here to scratch behind his ears to keep him calm when the moon rose. 

“I like staying in with you.” You poked him with a fluffy sock covered toe and earnt his fingers tickling you in return. 

“Well, that’s settled then. Go away!” he shouted at your friends, still banging on the door. 

Quiet reigned for all of two minutes before your phone started pinging.

You’re allowed to leave,you know?

Tina, of course, was always starting the arguments about Bucky.

He can’t control you

Morgan, desperate to be the ringleader of the group, but falling very far short. 

So that was two of your friends chipping in, that just left Jenny.

Leave the dog at home and come out with us, I promise we won’t see John. 

She was the biggest barrier to your friendship. Their personal attitude towards Bucky went way beyond the suggestions that he kept you trapped in the flat somehow and ended up in slurs. She’d use any opportunity to take a dig at him, especially if she knew he could hear. 

No.

You text back, slamming the phone down on the arm of the sofa, but they continued to text and text and text until you couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Ugh, God fine!” you bellowed across the room, your wings glittering and flashing red with fury, sprinkling fairy dust in your wake as you stomped across the room and yanked the door open.

“One fucking drink and then I’m coming home, just to prove that I can leave whenever I want.”

You glowed with anger as you slammed your bedroom door, emerging a few moments later with a crumpled dress on and a pair of heels. On your way past the mirror, you rubbed a finger below each eye to tidy your makeup.

“Have fun, Fairy, see you soon.” Bucky smiled, squeezing your hand over the back of the sofa. “I promise I’ll watch something else so we can see who gets voted out together.”

Dutifully, he flicked the TV off. 

“Let’s go,” you said, allowing your friends to drag you out of the door while Bucky waved them off. 

There was no way Bucky was really going to let you go out alone on the full moon. Although you’d have that gaggle of fae around you, he didn’t trust them not to abandon you at the first sign of trouble and, despite his lone wolf status, he knew that there were plenty of other wolves and shifters about just waiting to pounce should the opportunity arise.

Waiting until you’d at least left the building, Bucky sprang up from the sofa, looking out at the last of the sunset before he shook off the blankets, then his clothes and then his human form. Dragging his nails along the hardwood he clambered out the window and onto the fire exit. Scenting your perfume as you rounded the corner onto the next block, he couldn’t help but let out a howl, leaping onto the roof of the adjoining building and beginning his watch. 

Fairy dust.

It was everywhere, sparkling like glitter, the scent of vanilla frosting, but twice as sweet. It glimmered a path towards the alley way and, as Jenny rounded the corner, it was all she could see.

Despite the sparkling impairment, she could still hear your scream, ringing in her ears.

Tina and Morgan fell out of the side door of the nightclub, stumbling on their heels and dominoing forwards until all three fae were piled together on the cold, filthy ground. The golden shimmer of your fairy dust was all that let them know you’d been there. 

Sometime after the third round of shots and your fourth complaint that you wanted to go home, you’d edged away from them, towards the exit. That’d been fifteen minutes ago, when a were approaching Morgan at the bar had prompted the conversation to turn to Bucky again and what a disgusting, unsuitable, roommate they all thought he was. You rolled your eyes. If only the knew how bad John had been. 

Tina had only stopped when they’d all had a chance to complain about his taste in clothes, his solitary nature and even his smell, when she noticed that you hadn’t said anything in a while and their hunt for you began.

Eventually, trailing a story of you and a tall man with dark hair from the bar to the back doors, they had ventured outside.

“Look!” Jenny declared, spotting a spec of blood higher up on the alley wall. She fluttered her yellow wings and got closer to inspect it, running a finger through the smear, blood. “It’s blood! Call the Police!” 

Tina immediately started to dial as the three fae set off as fast as their wings could carry them, following the trail of blood. 

The trail wound between each block from the club to your street using the darkest back streets and alleyways. Morgan had conjured a ball of light to follow, but the three fae were still anxious to be back in the street lights or, better yet, back inside their own locked homes. 

It was a full moon after all, a foolish night to be out, drunk and alone.

Everyone they met confirmed that an injured fae had passed by with a brunette man and the trio’s imaginations ran riot, thinking of all the horrible things they were sure Bucky was doing to you for leaving the flat. 

As they turned onto your street, the blood seemed to stop but, at a run, they continued towards your apartment building.

From the outside, it looked as if Bucky was still watching television, the blue and white flashing of the screen lighting up the window and the patch of ceiling they could see from the doorstep below.

Then a figure appeared, a huge figure with pointed ears and long arms ending in claws that seemed to go on forever, elongated by the shadows cast across the walls. It reared up and then, just as quickly, it ducked down. No doubt to complete whatever awful ritual it was that weres enjoyed on the full moon, killed and eating fae no doubt.

Jenny screamed and began running up the short steps to the foyer, forcing her way past your confused looking neighbours. 

In the street, Morgan, rooted to the spot in horror, watched as the werewolf lifted a body in its arms and moved away from the window. Tina grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs to follow Jenny. 

Blood. Blood. Blood. That was all Bucky could think as he paced the living room, his fur matted with it, the scent filling his senses, stinking and hot and foul. He took a deep shuddering breath, willing the wolf inside of him to quiet. It paced in his mind, snarling and growling at any thought he sent its way, the thought of another man’s hands on you, the thought of you at the bar, unprotected and alone. 

Blood. Blood. Blood. 

He heaved a breath in and dropped his head into his hands, groaning as his body calmed. He tried to stay still, not wanting to cause anymore damage or spread the blood any further than his stumbling body already had. 

You were covered in it too, your wings heavy and drooping down your back. The iridescent shine was dulled, your breath coming in shallow, rasping sobs.

But no sooner had Bucky caught his breath than the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his senses telling him that danger was still approaching.

Looking up, he finally saw Tina, Morgan and Jenny standing in the door, staring open mouthed at his blood covered body. His fur, where it was longer across his head, was matted together and his paws left red marks against the white walls when he pulled away, shrinking back, ears flat to his head and tail tucked between his legs.

Jenny screamed, a blood curdling, piercing scream causing the neighbours to open their doors. Bucky’s ears twitched, and his soulders slumped, his hearing enhanced by his current form. 

“He killed her! He killed her! Look at that blood!” Jenny screached.

Bucky held his hands up in surrender, unable to do anything but let out a low howl of pain at the thought of doing anything to hurt you. 

“We know it’s her blood, on you!” Morgan shouted. 

Bucky was shaking now, the wolf desperate to fight back while Bucky tried to tame him. He knew being aggressive would make it worse, but he was having a hard time keeping his body in check in such a small space. He backed his way to the wall and slid down onto his hackles, the hair on his neck still raised, and gave a sharp bark of warning. 

“We knew you’d turn on her, you were mad she went out!” 

He shook his head again, his howl now a constant, pained, wail. 

Then he couldn’t hear anything.

Tina, Morgan and Jenny had brimmed with magic as they cornered him, but now he was behind a wall of light watching your friends and neighbours back away, forced out of the door by your power. 

Bucky grabbed around your waist so he could get close enough to press his muzzle into your neck, scenting you roughly in the hopes of calming the wolf. 

You fell back into his arms, spent from using the last of your energy on defending Bucky, but safe in his arms. 

“I’m okay, Buck,” you whispered, tired and breathy, digging your hands into his fur.

He scooped you up into his arms again, the same way he’d carried you home after John’s attack just an hour before and held you close.

“I’m with you, I’m okay.” You gave a weak smile, placing your hand on his muzzle as the fur faded and the wolf disappeared for another month, leaving your hand on his stumbled cheek. He turned into your warmth, placing a delicate kiss on your palm and kept you there for a moment, your eyes locked and then he dipped his head, brushing his lips against yours.

[g1rld1ary]

new year's day - sirius black x reader

wc: 2608

cw: drinking, smoking, swearing, kissing, r is an anxious overthinker

me: inspired ofc by miss swift. happy happy 2025 lovelies!!!! this was supposed to be out for my new years (it is currently 12am on the 3rd lol) but the words were not wording. hopefully because of time zones it's still only just passed NYD for some of u?? either way wishing u love + light for the yr ahead <33

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

There was glitter on the floor after the party. A wonderful idea at the time, sparkles falling softly as couples kissed and champagne was popped to welcome the new year in, but now it was just something else to clean up.

A couple of people you knew, friends you weren’t that close with, were still making their way out from the night before, heels thrown over shoulders and bare feet braving the winter streets. You waved out a few more guests with a forced smile, trying not to think about how much you would rather be back in a warm bed, preferably cuddled up with someone.

“Happy New Year, darling.” Alice Fortescue kissed your cheek on the way out, pressing a stack of Polaroids in your hands. The top one was you and Sirius, hugging tightly with megawatt grins on display. You flipped it over so fast you might have made an earthquake. You couldn’t think about him.

You shut the door behind the final group of stragglers, wishing them all a happy New Year as they went, and sighed. The party was a success, there was no denying it, but somehow you didn’t feel any satisfaction. Not after making what might be the biggest mistake of your life. Not that it felt like that at the time, but… Not everything that feels good is good.

Tense silence settled over your house and you felt dangerously alone despite knowing that all your best friends were still asleep somewhere upstairs. You allowed yourself a moment, quiet before the inevitable storm of the day, and sat on the couch with your head in your hands.

You felt stupid. You’d probably just fucked up the most important relationship in your life for five minutes of pleasure. And what was worse was that you couldn’t even talk to him about it so you just wallowed in your own self-pity, feeling your best friend slip through your fingers.

Something dumb was pumping through the stereo, accompanying the raucous noise already occupying your house.

“Dance with me,” You whined, grabbing Sirius’ hands to make him move along to the music with you. He laughed at you, shaking his head softly but moving with you all the same. He twirled you around easily, handing his drink to a laughing Remus.

Sirius followed you further into the cleared-out living room, pulling out all his most embarrassing dance moves to make you laugh. You took it as a challenge, moving to the music with the wildest movements you could create, the two of you unintentionally creating a bubble between you and the rest of the party.

You eventually tired out, though, and made Sirius accompany you through the first story of your house, wine-drunk and giggling as you let all your thoughts travel from your brain and out your mouth.

Sirius helped you up until you were sitting on the railing of your back porch and staring at the stars, him standing next to you, your shoulders brushing every so often. You talked about everything and nothing, the things you wanted to leave in this year, what you were excited for in the next.

James, Remus and Peter came tumbling out the back door and into your garden with a small crowd following, setting up in anticipation of the new year and the fireworks they were going to let off.

“Sirius?” You asked, and your tone must have worried him because Sirius was up in an instant, standing in front of you.

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me,” You said as your friends began to count down.

“What?” His silver eyes widened, hands finding purchase on your knees.

“Kiss me. Please.”

And as the new year made itself known, you were finally kissing Sirius Black, your best friend in the world and longtime crush. His lips were soft, same as his hair, and all you wanted was for him to be closer, closer, closer until you weren’t even two people anymore. Just one combined being so you’d never have to stop kissing him.

His palm on your cheek was warm, cradling you gently like you’d slip away at any moment. Had he been wanting this as much as you had? You weren’t in any shape to consider it, lost in his smell and his closeness.

Champagne bottles popped behind you, fireworks releasing into the sky and you were kissing Sirius Black. You thought life could not possibly get any better, except for when he pulled away and simply rested his forehead on yours, your two breaths mixing in the winter air.

You didn’t say anything, too afraid to pop the blissful bubble you were in, so the two of you remained in silence, Sirius’ hands still holding you.

“Come on, we’re gonna play a game inside!” Mary called as she swung around the balcony pole. You and Sirius parted, intense eye contact sending chills down your spine. He nudged you gently. indicating for you to come along with him and participate in whatever terrible drinking game your friends had cooked up. Neither of you mentioned the kiss for the rest of the night.

You groaned, wiping your hands down your face to pull you back to earth, slapping your knees and standing up. Back to real life, where your best friend might never talk to you again.

You stepped over the bodies littered across the hallway leading into your bedroom, switching on your stereo as a wake-up call. The gaggle of teens moaned and groaned as you went about your business, clearing up some of the stray litter that had found its way in last night.

“Come on, clean up crew. None of you will be let out the gate until I no longer live in a shithole!” You said with forced cheer, burying your angst deep inside. Your friends whined a cacophony of complaints but roused nonetheless, ready to clean still in their sparkly attire from the party.

“Didn’t your parents know about the party?” Lily asked, rubbing tired eyes.

“Yes, but they still don’t want to come back to filth! So let’s get on it!”

Despite originally being the leader of the cleaning crusade and being the primary inhabitant of the house in which you were all cleaning, you’d somehow been bossed into the one role you’d been praying against: taking on the living room with Sirius.

Tense silence blanketed the room. You had no conversation to provide, and clearly neither did Sirius, so you were both loading empty bottles into garbage bags trying desperately to think of something to say.

You looked up to say something, anything, but divine timing made you catch the precise moment a ray of sunlight threaded through Sirius’ inky hair and onto his face, making him all but glow in the daylight. You bit your lip, unable to make conversation when he was literally golden.

“Here,” Sirius was the one to eventually break the silence, tossing a glass beer bottle into your waiting rubbish bag. You played along, making a game of catching it. You passed the time that way, making a dull chore into a competition to make it bearable.

It wasn’t until one of the bottles shattered that you sobered up, freezing in place as glass scattered across the hardwood floor.

“Shit. Stay right there,” Sirius ordered, rushing out of the room for a brush pan and broom. You stared at your sock-clad feet, both to ensure there wasn’t any glass on you and to reconsider the dynamic you had with Sirius. He’d been acting normal but hadn’t mentioned the kiss at all, maybe he was politely ignoring it so nothing would change. Or, you realised with a start, maybe he didn’t even remember it. You’d all been drinking and you were pretty sure you’d seen Sirius smoking something with Remus, there was a chance he really didn’t even know it happened. The thought was a little like a knife through the heart but it was better than losing him, so you chose to believe it.

Sirius returned, carefully cleaning away the glass shards littered by your feet as you stood dutifully still. It was strangely intimate, you could hear your friends chatter in a distant other room, a Beatles record floating through the air, but you felt a million miles away with Sirius.

“You’re all good,” He said, tipping the glass pieces into the rubbish, holding thick eye contact. You swallowed, mouth dry as you searched for a familiar quip to move the moment on. Nothing came and you were stuck staring at each other until someone called for you both in the other room.

“Hurry up, you two, we’re making vision boards!” You both snapped to attention, tossing the last remaining bits of rubbish into the bin and hurrying over to where the rest of your friends sat around a long dining table.

“What the bloody hell is a vision board,” Sirius muttered and you giggled at his side, quickly quietening down when he looked at you in a way you couldn’t decipher. Your brain chose to interpret it as discomfort.

“A vision board,” Remus explained with a stern emphasis, “Is where you collage the things you want to bring into the new year. So attitudes, things you want to happen, whatever you want.”

Sirius grumbled a bit more but sat down nonetheless, examining the collection of photos the girls had prepared a few days before new year’s eve.

You all quietened down as the craft progressed, scissor snips and paper rustling filling the room. You were mostly engaged with your own approaching new year visions, gluing down inspirational quotes and images you wanted to live out.

By chance you glanced down at Sirius’ board as you reached over to take a picture from Lily’s hands, eyes catching on one of the photos glued down already. Two figures kissing in the snow, the girl’s hand on the man’s jaw.

You dropped back into your chair aggressively, slumping back slightly.

“Woah, you alright?” James asked, trying to rub glue off his hands. You nodded before he could even finish the question, putting your head down to focus on your board.

What did the photo mean? Was Sirius finally ready to settle down and get a girlfriend? Was it you? Was it because of you? Holy shit, you were such a bad kisser that you made Sirius Black want to stop hooking up with people.

You knew you were being quiet but you couldn’t help it. It was hard to look forward to the year ahead when it was clear to you that something would be different between you and Sirius.

You excused yourself to get another glass of water, sighing as you watched the winter landscape out the window above the sink.

“Alright, dove?” You jumped at Remus’ voice but turned with a small smile. You nodded with a noncommittal noise, taking a sip of water to avoid speaking. He shot you a look you could almost picture McGonagall giving you when you lied about not being stressed during exams.

“Are we not talking about the kiss, then?” You paused. Obviously someone would have seen it, you weren’t exactly hiding anything, but it still sent fear through your veins. Not only would it now be weird with Sirius, people would start to pick sides as you drifted and soon enough your whole friendship group would be fractured down the middle. The tears burned in your eyes without any notice and you bit the inside of your cheek to stop them from falling.

“Everything’s going to fall apart,” You broke down, collapsing into Remus’ arms. He held you for a minute, letting you get the worst out.

“Nothing’s going to fall apart.” He pet your hair softly, “If you like him you just need to tell him. Don’t avoid him because of things you’re imagining might happen. Live in real life, dove.” You considered Remus’ words. They kinda hurt, but you thought you needed to hear them.

No one mentioned your red eyes as you returned from the kitchen with Remus, and Mary kindly told you the group had moved on from vision boards to new year’s resolutions.

You wrote your list in pensive silence, doodling with a sparkly pink gel pen. Staring across the table you were struck with inspiration, scribbling quickly like you were leaving a smoking trail.

The group dispersed after you’d all finished, teenagers filling every corner of your house. Each were tending to their own business, mostly setting up sleeping spaces so they could all stay while your parents were travelling.

“Hey,” You said awkwardly, approaching Sirius as he smoked on the back porch. He turned to face you, lips twitching up in response. “Is this your resolutions list? Can I read it?” You swiped the folded up piece of paper from his long fingers. He looked as if he was going to put up a fight but relented easily, turning to fully face you.

“Only if I get to read yours.”

You traded papers, the unfolding sheets rustling in the otherwise silent air. Your eyes scanned the list, smiling when you saw “buy a motorbike” in unnecessarily formal script.

And then, number five. In trembling hands, you re-read the words several times, not sure if you wanted it to be true or not.

“Tell her how I feel?” You asked, scared to even make eye contact.

“Tell him how I feel,” Sirius read off your list, a joyful spark making its way to his eyes.

“So…”

“I really like you. So much. And when you asked me to kiss you I was so scared that we’d fuck everything up but I can never say no to you. And I wanted to so, so much.”

Holy shit. You felt ridiculous, stressing about this all day when the whole time — the whole time — Sirius felt exactly the same. Your mouth dried up as you searched for words, anything acceptable for the current moment. You gave up, doing instead what you’d been thinking about all day.

And suddenly you were kissing Sirius Black. Again. His lips were just as soft as they were last night but tasted smokey and sweet from the leftover treats you’d all been snacking on throughout the day. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him as close as you possibly could.

You thought it was far too easy to get lost in kissing Sirius Black. Despite the cold air around you, you wouldn’t have been able to say whether it had been minutes or hours and you wouldn’t have dreamt of pulling away.

Cheers and hoots came from your bedroom window, reluctantly pulling yourselves off each other. Your friends were all hanging out the window making right fools of themselves, and you could tell the warmth in your cheeks wasn’t just from the cold. You buried your head in his chest to avoid the stares, revelling in being close.

“So…” Sirius said once the cheerleaders had had their fun.

“We’re certainly productive,” You joked, “I mean, how many people are ticking off their resolutions on New Year’s Day?”

“Maybe I should make another one then.” Sirius grabbed his paper back and pretended to write, “How about ‘get a girlfriend?’” You pretended to think, tilting your head as you pondered.

“I guess I could help you with that.”

[sanjisleggy]

the siren and the sun (ace x reader) [pt1]

a/n: here it is,, on 1st Jan 2025,,, the first part of my childhood friend!reader x ace series! :D i honestly have no concrete plan going forward but i’m rly excited to work on this so i hope you guys enjoy reading it as well <3

contents: fem!reader, descriptions of drowning, very pining!Ace, lowkey jealous!Ace, some angst, protective dad!Whitebeard

wc. 3k

wanna be on my taglist?

i. 

the salty ocean water was frigid, nearly sending your flailing body into shock purely from the sudden cold. as you struggled to keep your head above water, the waves crashed mercilessly against each other, leaving you as merely collateral damage.

you could faintly hear the cries of the boy you left home with. 

he screamed your name, his panicked voice intermingling with the sound of thunder and pouring rain. every now and then you could feel his calloused yet slippery hand brush against yours in a futile attempt to pull you aboard the tiny fishing boat you’d set sail on weeks ago.

you wake up with a start, body jolting upward as your foggy mind takes its time separating the dream of your past from your present. you feel the faint bobbing of the Moby Dick and realise your crew must’ve docked while you were still asleep. 

rubbing your sleepy eyes, you struggle to remember what Marco had told you last night–something about a rookie pirate crew causing trouble for Jinbei. however, before you can recall all the details, you hear a knock on your door.

“come in,” you groan as you crawl out of bed whilst your visitor swings open the door. speak of the devil, you think to yourself as the Phoenix himself greets you a good morning.

his was the first face you saw when you came to. the unfamiliar man was gentle and patient even when you tried your hardest to punch him in the face out of panic. you were in a room–an infirmary?–that you’d never seen before in your life with wires and tubes of all kinds attached to your body.

a simple glance down at your clothes made your face heat up when you realised someone must’ve changed them for you while you were unconscious. the shame of the revelation was short-lived, however, when the only door in the room swung open to reveal someone you never thought you’d meet in your whole life.

“there’s someone you might want to see,” your closest crewmate announces without any further elaboration. “i’ll wait for you in the infirmary.” Marco shoots you a smile before heading off, not bothering to wait for a response.

curiosity getting the better of you, you quickly wash up and change your clothes before exiting your room. your crewmates greet you good morning as you speed past them, your legs moving on autopilot towards the place you spend the most time in–second only to your own personal quarters. just a few steps away from the infirmary door, you hear muffled yelling followed by the deep toned voice you’d come to love and cherish.

before you stood Whitebeard himself, the strongest man alive. just his mere presence was enough to both render you speechless and freeze you in place as you stared unblinkingly up at the man who was so tall his head nearly brushed the ceiling. the first man you saw, meanwhile, simply stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed, an oddly relaxed smile on his face.

“you’re lucky to be alive, little one,” Whitebeard said, his voice so deep you swore the entire room trembled. “we aren’t holding you captive so stop making a fuss. you may leave whenever you wish.”

“i have nowhere else to go.” you couldn’t help the tears as they welled up in your eyes, the shock of your near-death experience hitting you suddenly all at once. digging your fingers into your scalp, you hung your head and cried. “all i remember was falling out of the boat my friend and i were on during a storm. i don’t even know if he’s alive anymore. i don’t know what to do!”

the two men watched in silence as you sobbed but even then you could tell there was no judgement on their end. you felt no shame or embarrassment as you cried in their presence, only an odd sense of comfort.

“then be my daughter,” Whitebeard said simply, “and live your life as you wish.”

before you can even reach out your hand to grab the door knob, the entire door flies off its hinges. it shoots past your face, barely grazing your nose, and hits the deck railing before falling overboard entirely, hitting the sea below with a splash… and a sizzle?

your initial shock morphs into annoyance and anger, your heart clearly not pleased to be tested in such a way so soon after waking. you turn to face the infirmary doorway–now missing the whole door–and mentally prepare yourself to use your Devil Fruit ability in the case of an intruder.

a tall silhouette emerges from the smoke flooding the room but before you can see their face, you spot a ball of fire appearing where their hand should be. then, the person runs straight towards you.

“(Y/N)!” you hear some of your crewmates cry out in surprise as the intruder bodyslams you into the railing. the both of you still engulfed by the smoke exiting the infirmary, you’re unable to make out the stranger’s face as they reach out to grab your neck with their other hand reeled back, flames still dancing on their fingertips. gripping the hand that continues to grasp your throat, you struggle to pry yourself free.

“st–” you feel the familiar numbing sensation spread across your throat and tongue as you activate your Devil Fruit ability. however, before you can complete the command, the remaining smoke clears to reveal the face of your assailant and your eyes widen in recognition.

“Ace?” you gasp, your heart, already beating rapidly from the shock of the attack, races even faster. it pounds fiercely within the confines of your ribcage, almost threatening to burst free from your body entirely as you stare up at the boy you never thought you’d see again.

“you’re alive?” Ace murmurs, the flames wrapped around his curled fist dissipating into nothingness as he lets go of your throat quickly–as though you were the one set ablaze and he’d been burnt. “you’re alive!” he repeats breathlessly before he wraps his arms around you and buries his face into the crook of your neck.

you feel a wetness on your skin as the boy begins to tremble, hands gripping onto your clothes for dear life whilst he slowly sinks to his knees, pulling you down with him. you’re quick to return the hug, your teary eyes fluttering shut as you bask in the long-forgotten feeling of being hugged by Portgas D. Ace.

ii. 

you’re so pretty.

sitting cross-legged on your bed, Ace watches you silently as you move about your room, tidying up loose clothes and random belongings scattered about. seemingly too focused on cleaning up, you fail to realise how intently he stares. his eyes stay pinned to your face, occasionally trailing down to the rest of you but always going back to your face–the face he’d spent countless sleepless nights trying his hardest to never forget; the face that haunted him in his dreams.

he wanted badly to tell you how he felt. although, he considered himself lucky enough you hadn’t caught on yet yourself, considering how red his face must’ve looked–especially right now as he watched Luffy swing amongst the trees with you clinging onto his back.

his younger brother laughed with little restraint while you screamed, almost on the verge of tears; and yet you never asked to be put back down on the ground. all three of you knew how much you loved adrenaline rushes.

Ace simply watched as he laid on the grass, the upper half of his body propped up by his arms. it was a hot day on Dawn Island but he was mostly protected from the sun’s rays by the shade provided by the same trees his brother and you played on.

just then you’d let out yet another yelp of surprise–the result of a particularly sharp drop, courtesy of Luffy–and Ace swore his heart stopped for just a second. he’d felt his arms and legs twitch on their own accord, as though instinctively prepared to catch you if you fell.

“Ace?” your voice snaps him out of his reverie. it’s older now, just a bit more mature than how he’d remembered it. you look older, as well, though you hadn’t grown any much taller. he recalls how for the first few years of your friendship, you loved reminding him how much taller you were–only to watch helplessly as he easily outgrew you in your mid-teens. “Ace?” you call his name again, this time waving your hand in front of his face.

“yeah?” he blinks a couple of times as though grounding himself back to reality. you’re leaning over slightly now, face hovering close enough to his own that he can feel the faint wisps of your breath. Ace feels his own face grow warm and hopes you don’t think too much of it. 

“Pops said you can stay in my room so i asked Marco to lend me some of his old clothes in case you want to change into something else.”

“who says i’m staying?” the words slip out before Ace can even process their meaning. in all honesty, he wants nothing more than to be by your side again but the thought of pledging any kind of allegiance to Whitebeard makes his blood run hot.

“oh.” you don’t try very hard to hide the disappointment on your face and almost immediately Ace wishes he can take it all back. “sorry, i guess i just assumed you were going to join us.” you shoot him a halfhearted smile before turning to walk away to pick up some books you’d left scattered on the floor nearby.

us? when was the last time you and i were separate ‘us’s?

“(Y/N), i–” he tries to speak without thinking about what he wants to say, hoping only to somehow salvage the conversation.

“no, it’s fine.” you cut him off and Ace can tell from the tone of your voice that you mean what you’re about to say with full sincerity. “you have your own crew now, right? the Spade Pirates? i like that name.” you turn to look at him again, this time with a much less forced smile. “both you and Luffy always wanted to be captains so i understand.”

you can come with me.

“i’m here to kill Whitebeard.” 

“i know.”

“you’re not gonna try to stop me?”

“she doesn’t have to,” a third voice intervenes from the open door of your quarters. Ace’s head snaps sharply in the direction of the intruder, sparks already flying from his fingertips as he glares at who he recognises as the man who had apparently nursed him back to health.

Marco merely smiles at Ace before entering your room fully with an arm full of clothes. Ace watches as the older man stands close to you, even ducking his head slightly to say something just out of earshot. you reply with your own whispered murmurs, clearly not wanting Ace to listen in on any part of the conversation.

the thought alone makes his heart sink. he can’t remember the last time you’d left him out on something.

iii.

although he’s curious, Ace doesn’t bother asking Marco what he’d meant when he said you “didn’t have to” stop him. simply chalking it up to some vague attempt at subtly reminding him of the Whitebeard crew’s overwhelming manpower. much to his chagrin, though, he finds himself constantly presented with the opportunity to clarify his doubts with the crew’s doctor since it seems like you work closely with him.

“he’s following you around like a puppy,” Marco comments as the two of you make your way to the dining room with Ace trailing closely behind, his hand holding loosely onto the free-hanging excess of your belt. you simply laugh in response, shooting a quick glance at him before returning your attention to your crewmate. as much as he’s tempted to throw a punch at the older man for the perceived slight, he holds himself back for your sake.

“join me tomorrow. let’s set sail together.” his eyes shone brightly even under the cover of night. Ace grabbed your hands, engulfing them in his own larger ones as he pulled you closer. “we can start our own crew and you’ll be my first mate.”

your lack of response lasted for a minute that felt far too uncomfortable, so much so that he’d almost started second-guessing himself. maybe he’d assumed too much thinking you’d want to follow someone like him.

“what makes you think you won’t be my first mate?” you laughed, unaware of how with just a few words you’d lifted an enormous weight off his shoulders. “what if i wanna be captain? will you take back your offer?”

“i might consider it.”

“consider uninviting me?” you gasped in an exaggerated manner.

“nope. i might consider letting you be captain. no guarantees, though.” you knew he’d said it as a joke–which it was–but a small part of Ace knew, if it really came down to it, he wouldn’t mind being your first mate.

dinner is incredibly uncomfortable–for Ace, at least. for some reason you’d chosen to sit right across from Whitebeard himself while Marco opted to sit beside his captain and, thusly, directly across from Ace.

the first few minutes of eating go without any conversation with your table being the only one that remains completely silent. meanwhile, the rest of the crew that had chosen to also eat in the room instead of out on the deck go about chatting animatedly–at the very least, the endless noise makes for a good distraction from the fact that the man Ace so desperately wants to kill is sitting right in front of him.

“i hear you refuse to join my crew,” Whitebeard finally says, looking directly into Ace’s eyes with the calmness one would not find in a man speaking to his wannabe-assassin.

“i won’t need to join you once i kill you.” out of the corner of his eye, he sees you shooting him a look but he’s far too busy gritting his teeth and keeping it together to break eye contact. 

“very well,” Whitebeard chuckles heartily, “feel free to keep trying.” Marco smirks at his captain’s response and it takes all of Ace’s willpower not to start a fight right then and there. “in that case, though, i won’t let you share (Y/N)’s room.”

“Pops!” you whined in protest. “it’s fine, i trust Ace. he can stay with me.”

“there’s no way i’m risking my beloved daughter’s life. you may trust him but i don’t. not yet, at least.”

without considering that his actions might just prove Whitebeard right, Ace swings his fist at the older man as he lunges across the table. all he can see in that moment is red, his heart pounding his burning blood through the veins in his body.

“don’t tell (Y/N) what she can or can’t do,” Ace barks, “she was my friend before she became your daughter!” as his fiery fist nears Whitebeard’s face, the younger man takes a split second to realise no one’s reacting, not even the target himself.

“stop!” your voice rings out throughout the room but it sounds different somehow. though you said but a single word, Ace feels it linger in the air far longer than any noise should, the sound itself almost feeling as though it’s piercing his brain through his ears. the onlookers all wince in response but none of them look nearly as affected as he does.

it’s right then he realises: he can’t move. 

his now-extinguished fist remains midair, his knuckles just a few centimetres from Whitebeard’s nose, as his body stays frozen and lunged across the table. his mind is still clearly in his control, Ace can tell at the very least, but he’s physically unable to move at all. he screams at himself internally to do something, anything, to break free but it’s as though something somewhere deep in his subconscious is stopping him from doing what he wants. 

“release.” you command before Ace’s body slumps like a ragdoll onto the dining table, his face slamming directly into the aged wood. he hears the sound of ceramic and metal hitting the ground as he groans, suddenly feeling an overwhelming wave of exhaustion wash over him.

“i’m so sorry,” you say frantically as he feels your warm hands pull him off the table and back into a sitting position beside you. “you left me no choice, Ace.” with one hand cupping his face, turning his head to look at you, the other combs through his wavy hair and he nearly shudders from the feeling of your nails scratching his scalp.

as you continue to fuss over him, even going so far as to grab a few napkins to clean up his face and clothes, Ace remains in a daze. he can hear Whitebeard and Marco conversing from across the table but their words fly over his head as he keeps his eyes pinned on you. he still feels a tad breathless, though now he’s unsure if it’s because of what you’d done to him just a moment ago, or rather because you’re taking care of him.

Ace grabs the hand you have cupping his face and holds it there, basking in its warmth which used to be familiar. allowing his eyes to flutter closed, he nuzzles his face into your palm, uncaring of the stares undoubtedly being pointed his way. 

he realises, slowly, how much you’ve grown and changed. how different you are from the girl he grew up with; and yet everything about you still feels the same. the warmth of your hand, the way you smell, the inflections in your voice. feeling a pang in his chest, it dawns on Ace that, at some point, he’ll have to choose between his goal of killing Whitebeard and being with you. 

gen taglist: @irethepotato @i-reblog-fics-i-like @grierpilots @appalost @hyper-fic-ation @dressycobra7

series taglist: @captainportgasdace @mitskisaveme @graveyardsweethearts @vaniiiavengeance @stuckinmymind22

[toskarin]

Do you have any real roguelike game recommendations?

broad spectrum somewhat rambly recommends

I generally lean towards recommending Angband and its variants (Sil-Q is really good but you should definitely be familiar with Angband first. similar is true of Hengband, the most popular Japanese variant, for other reasons) because I personally enjoy them and they're straightforward enough to learn the genre with

Ancient Domains of Mystery is a good time if you like open world rpgs and, as a nice perk for people picking it up, has a tileset graphics option

NetHack and Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup would fall into the category of being good games that I don't personally enjoy that much. similar territory with The Ground Gives Way, but these are the ones I see hook people a lot, so they might be something you're interested in

Iter Vehemens ad Necem falls into similar territory, where I like it a good bit, but often think about playing it and go "ohhh but then I'd have to actually play it"

the most accessible recommendation I can give that is pretty widely accepted as a roguelike is definitely Tales of Maj'Eyal, since it's fully graphical and has really streamlined controls, followed by Caves of Qud (more just because of how approachable it is, but it has lots of streamlining as well)

for the sickos who like System Shock and robot combat, there's Cogmind. for the sickos who like to cast one spell and then strike fifty enemies two-hundred times in a row while your spell chains between them, there's Rift Wizard (1 and 2)

for the sickos who like when game mechanics involve praying to real-world spirits to ward off bears and making sheep walk over fishing nets to turn them lucky, there's UnReal World

I'm not recommending Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead because that actually feels kind of immoral even for sickos who like zombie games, but I have to mention it if I recommend Cataclysm: Bright Nights

Elona and Elin aren't really roguelikes (nor intended to be played as them), but you know how some music isn't really in a genre despite fans of that genre really liking it? they're kind of like if ADOM were more concerned with being a longterm fantasy world lifesim