#(welp... I think it's pretty clear what happened in this one)

[saiyanandproud]

{ CUDDLE 🧸 } ( S4 of RGRomance? I'm realizing the tone of this would greatly depend on how the Atlas saga wraps up, but we can figure that out as we go. ... or yknow. AU )

At the edge of his cot, Nucleotide sat, watching Mariko like one does with a loved one on a sickbed. The concern widens his eyes, though he doesn't approach, but rather leans over the border of her personal space, as if waiting for invitation.

"... You look upset. Can I do anything to help?"

Valentine's Day Prompts

Laying in the bed opposite Nucleotide's, Mariko stood still under the blankets, staring at the ceiling with a tense frown. Her lips were sealed in a thin line, barely peeking from the edge of the blanket; she kept one hand over her chest, closed in a fist, with the other tightened around it. She hoped the pressure would ease the pain on her palm, but it kept burning in a straight line that crossed it diagonally, from below the pointing finger all the way down to the wrist.

She didn't know why she had done it. She was alone in the garage, crying in her hidden corner, feeling a whole lot of stuff she didn't want to feel anymore, she was done feeling. Anger, fear, but overall, guilt, and the burning sense of unfairness and shame because she had done nothing to deserve all of that, and yet, she couldn't shake off the feeling that it was all her fault and hers only.

So she had grabbed the scissors Takuma used to cut old wires, had pressed the point of the blade on her palm, and dragged it all the way down, over and over, until it had opened a long laceration over it, and blood had started surfacing from it like a shiny red river rising from the bottom of a canyon. At first, she had felt relief. But then, as the blood started spilling, anguish had invested her again like a wave; because nothing had changed after that act, not really, and now she felt as miserable as she did before, with a cut on her palm on top of that -- another thing that was just her fault.

It was Takuma who had found her crying while she stared at her cut, her shoulders shaken by sobs. He had said nothing, only promptly helped her up and taken her to the kitchen. When Chandra had seen her, the horror on her face had been another stab in Mariko's chest, and tears burt her eyes even more. Takuma had only shaken his head at the woman, as if silently telling her to not say anything; he had cleaned Mariko's wound, wrapped a dressing around it so tightly it almost hurt, and accompanied her to the bedroom. They had sat on the bed, and he had tried to ask her what had happened, but Mariko hadn't answered nor turned to look at him. She had simply gotten under the blanket and turned her shoulders at Takuma, who had stayed there in silence until she had fallen asleep.

When she had woken up, it was already late night. Nucleotide was in his bed, reading, and she had done her best to not get caught, but it only had taken her to stir for Nucleotide to turn around in a second. Now, framed by that worried look of his, Mariko felt the tears rising to her eyes again, the knot from earlier pushing back against her throat. She was in pain and she had hurt herself; and no one was there to stop her, to save her -- not Hit, not Gamma 2, not Cleo. And not even Atlas.

A sob broke through her throat, followed by another one, Soon, tears bleared her sight and rolled down her face as she squeezed her lids tight; she clenched her teeth together, pulling the blanket over her head and turning to face the wall, chest shaken by the sobs.

"It would have been better if they had taken me from the beginning!" She cried, words broken by short hiccups. "It would have been better for everyone! Then this would have been over already, and I wouldn't be still here being everybody's problem! I'm tired! I can't take it anymore," she stammered, pressing the wounded palm against her chest. "I had enough! I just want for this to be over!"

[letmereedusyou]

i'm not yours

Daryl Dixon x fem reader

summary: Daryl is in a relationship with Leah (they live in Alexandria together, so completely different plot to what TWD sold us), and you have been friends forever now. He doesn't know but you love him and you finally decide to tell him.

warnings: some swearing, but nothing too crazy

A/N: this one broke my heart, I was listening to Conan Gray "Yours" and I thought it would be a great idea. Don't ask why Leah, it just fits the story the most and it's easier to write about someone who you actually dislike a little than someone like my sweet precious Connie. I know Daryl wouldn't be like that in any way, shape or form, but I wanted to write something that has a bit of a sad ending. Welp, here we are.

Knock knock knock.

The sound of it echoed through your house, and it made you jump in your place at the desk, where you were writing in your journal. You knew exactly who it was. You promised Daryl you will go with him for a scavenging trip, as you were his best friend, but also a real good scavenger. You knew you couldn't deny him when he asked you two days ago, and even if it means enduring your stupid heart beating fast every time you were around him.

Truth was, you were in love with Daryl for quite some time now. You couldn't remember when exactly it happened. It felt like day by day you heart was aching to be more to him. More than just a friend. To be able to touch him, kiss him, feel him against you, not only as a friend... but as something deeper.

You were going to tell him a few months back, but then he met Leah and everything changed. You could see how he looked at her. Even though his face did not let it show, his eyes told you that he was attracted to her. Hell, you knew way before he admitted to it. And then, stupidly, you pushed him to ask her out but he only gave you a look of "do not even go there" and waved his hand at you. It wasn't long after that, Leah decided to make a move herself. She asked him out and he said yes. Of course, he said yes. He was silently yearning for her since she showed up in Alexandria. It almost made you sick how much he was into her.

You tried to be happy for him, you really have. And a part of you is happy for him. He finally seems a bit more relaxed, smiles a little more, talks a little more. Leah had a good influence on him through the months - you couldn't deny that. But deep down, you wished you were the one who was making him that happy, that much more open.

With a sigh, you closed your journal and got up, making your way to the doors. You opened them, only to be greeted with a slight smile from Daryl and a nod. "Hey," he said. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," you say and you looked him up and down. He was wearing a weird, cape like thing. "The hell are you wearing?" you ask him, putting on your own jacket.

"A poncho," he says without missing a beat. He looked down at it and brushed an invisible fluff off it. "Why?"

"A poncho?" you raised you eyebrow, your lips curl into a smirk.

"Yes, a poncho," he says, rolling his eyes. "What's wrong with a poncho?"

"Nothing," you shake your head. "I just didn't take you as a poncho guy."

"Leah made it for me and it's quite warm," he shrugs his shoulders and looks at you with a slight smile. Of course, you thought to yourself, physically wanting to roll your eyes at it, but your smirk never falters. "I'll ask her to make you one. We'll both look like Robin Hood in the woods." You snort with laughter, stepping out of the house and following him to the gates.

Your heart was already thumping in your chest and it's only been mere minutes since you've been close to him. Your palms were sweaty. All you could think about was wrapping your arms around him and never letting him go. You knew you couldn't, but it was getting increasingly harder to be around him, knowing that him and Leah are playing house and being happy together.

If it isn't clear yet, you hate Leah. Pretty much everyone disliked her in Alexandria, but you were hundred percent sure you hated her most. Not because she was with Daryl, but she was just... so... bland. So boring. She had nothing going on for herself, she cries more than anyone you know, but yet somehow Daryl likes her? You found it strange. You found her strange. But you guessed that maybe she is only ever so bland in front of people, and she might be a bit more fun behind closed doors.

"Where are we going today?" you ask Daryl once you were out the gates, sounding casual and normal as always.

"I found some places, a couple miles out west and I wanted to check them out and see what we could find," he says, looking forwards. "We're running low on some medical supplies."

"Righto," you nod, focusing on the surroundings.

You walked and Daryl talked about Leah, non stop, like he didn't have any other topics to talk about with you. It was all 'Leah this... Leah that' and it really pissed you off, even though you didn't show it. You missed your usual banter and teasing. You missed the connection you formed over the years of friendship. Daryl quietens for a second before he speaks again.

"You should give Leah a chance, you know?"

"Kinda hard to give a chance to someone who has everything you want," you murmur.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

You stop in your tracks and your eyed widen realising that you said it out loud, instead of in your head. You turn to Daryl, who also stopped walking, and were looking at you with a raised eyebrow. You felt like your heart surely will jump out of your chest, in panic, under his questioning gaze.

"Nothing," you say, shaking your head.

"No, it's clearly something," Daryl presses and steps closer to you. "Why do you hate Leah so much? She's a really good person. If only..."

"Dear God, do you have anything else to talk about anymore?!" you roar, slinging your hands up in frustration. "I am so fucking sick of hearing you talk about her!"

"She's my..."

"Yeah, she's your girlfriend, got it!" you scoffed, the irritation building up inside of you. "You won't let me forget for even a minute!"

"What's gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?" he asks, looking you up and down, so clueless that it makes you blood boil and your face turns red. You clench your fists until your knuckles turn white.

The next words come out of your mouth with anger, frustration, so much fucking annoyance that you weren't able to stop them.

"Because I fucking love you! Because Leah gets to have you every single day of the week, while I have to watch you two from the side lines, kissing and holding each other and it makes me fucking jealous. Because I was supposed to be that person to you! Me!"

Daryl's eyes widen at your confession, and you keep looking at him. You swallowed hard, the realisation of what you just said finally hitting you and you close your eyes for a minute, trying to steady your breath. Everything seems to slow down around you, like someone switched the world to slow motion setting. Your body freezes up in place and when you open your eyes again, you see Daryl standing there, frowning.

"What the fuck, Y/N?" he asks, crossing his arms on his chest, his muscles stretch and roll under his checkered shirt. "Why would you ever tell me that?"

"I didn't mean to," you say but then you shake your head catching yourself on a lie. "That is a lie. I meant to... way before the Leah bullshit. But I've always chickened out."

"Before Leah? Y/N... How long has this been going on? And why the hell you thought that now is the best time to tell me?" his voice is cold and unforgiving. "I thought we were friends."

"We are!" you say quickly. "Of course we are friends."

"But you love me," he says slowly. "And now I know. How am I supposed to treat you now?"

"Just like you did before all of this," you say and you take a step closer to him. "Nothing needs to change. We can just forget about it."

He instinctively takes a step back.

OUCH.

You look into his eyes, your eyes pleading and questioning, like you were trying to search for answers in his. You wanted him to say that it is fine and that he will just forget about it, but he doesn't. Instead, he's standing there, his hands squeezing on the crossbow, looking at you like you've just stabbed him or something. Confusion on his face tells you he doesn't know how to deal with this information, knowing his best friend loves him in a romantic type of way, not the friendly way.

"Please, Daryl," you say, your head swing down, between your shoulders. "I'm still your best friend..."

"Best friend?" he scoffs.

OUCH AGAIN.

"Yes... Am I not?" you ask quietly, feeling the sting of the tears at the back of your eyes as you pray to God not to break down in front of him.

"You were, until you fell in love with me," he says without skipping a beat and you feel like your heart is being ripped out your chest. "Do you really expect me to just forget about all of this, and continue to be friends with you?"

"What do you mean?" you ask, your voice really weak.

"How would I know you won't try and destroy my relationship? Try to put a wedge between me and Leah, so you can have me all to yourself?" he starts to pace around, his eyes still scanning you, nothing but coldness in them.

"I wouldn't," you whisper. "You happiness is important to me."

"I cannot be sure about that now, can I?" he huffs. "So what, you're okay with just being friends with me?" he look you dead in the eyes and you could've sworn your heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

No. I want more. You wanted to say, to scream, but you knew that it wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"I'm okay with being just friends with you," you say, looking down at the ground, your words lack conviction.

"You're lying," he calls you out.

"I am," you admit pretty quickly, knowing he could read you like a book.

He looks at you for awhile, before rubbing his face with his whole hand. You could see he was trying to process the information as best as he could, and you were afraid that you just made the biggest mistake of your life. That you were about to lose a friend, someone who has been there for you forever now, just because your stupid feelings.

You bite your lip, trying hard to keep your emotions in check, your eyes still stinging at the back. Daryl was pacing around again, not looking at you anymore. His face serious, more serious than you ever saw him be. He suddenly stops.

"I would never see you as something more than a friend," you hear him say and your whole body shivers with how cold and mean it sounded.

You look up to him. He's now standing in front of you, with his crossbow swung across his body, his hands crossed on his chest. His blue eyes - oh, those perfect blue eyes - are looking at you but there is nothing behind them. His jaw seems to be clenching hard, like he's trying not to yell and scream. You wouldn't blame him if he did, but you were glad that he wasn't. Because it would, for sure, make you curl into a ball and cry.

You swallow hard and nod to him, acknowledging the words he just said.

I would never see you as something more than a friend.

You knew it. You knew you'd never be his. Deep down you were aware of it, but your stupid aching heart thought that maybe, just maybe, he'd change his mind one day and he'd see you as more than a friend... It was a delusion, promptly followed by empty hope.

"I know," you manage to whisper to him, your eyes digging a hole in the ground before you. You were too embarrassed to look at him, now that he knows and he will always know. He will always have your words at the back of his head and, most likely, he'll never treat you the same way.

Your whole scavenging trip goes in an excruciating silence. You go through the buildings and you scavenge the most of it, before going back to Alexandria. There is no goodbye from Daryl when you step inside the gates. There is no "see ya later" or anything else that would indicate that your friendship is okay. Of course, your friendship wasn't okay. You just told him you loved him, and he said he'd never see you as more than a friend...

You watched him head to his house, greet Leah and pull her inside the house, closing the doors behind him. You think about what they were doing, but you quickly shake your head to get rid of these thoughts. Your eyes finally fill with tears as you head down the street, your head down, your hands in your pockets. You let it all out, stepping inside your house, sliding down the doors onto the floor and curling into a ball. It felt like you just lost a piece of yourself. Piece that was important, maybe too important.

Days go by, and Daryl stays away from you, you both slowly drift away from each other. It was clear he wasn't comfortable with being friends with someone who loved them more than that. It was clear that your friendship was ruined, and that it was your fault. When you passed by each other, there was no words exchanged. It was like two complete strangers, just living in the same community.

You remember how he made you smile, and laugh. You you'd always tease each other and banter. How you always find ways to annoy people around you. You remember how everything that you liked about your life, it was somehow connected to him. How hearing his name made you smile every single time because you knew that day spent with Daryl was going to be full of adventure and mischief which you loved.

But one day, hearing his name didn't make you smile anymore...

Part 2 | Part 3

[updownlately]

but i bet you if they only knew (they’d just be jealous of us)

| leah williamson x reader | fluff | 2k | a/n: another req! in all honesty this took me ages to even get a basic idea of what i wanted to write and countless drafts and i still don't how to feel about it. hopefully y'all atleast find this somewhat wholesome bc that's what i was going for but if not then welp... to whoever requested, my bad for the time this took but i hope you don't mind that i changed the req a bit! anyway, as usual, happy reading!

~~~

In the midst of the locker room chaos, everyone seemingly more energetic after the afternoon training, sat Leah-  nearly ready to go, regular trainers on, bag packed, focus strayed drastically from her original intent of going home as quickly as possible.

Attention instead directed towards Beth and Katie’s, their off key singing easily entertaining the whole Arsenal women’s team, the blonde missed the way her phone vibrated, the noise of the notification lost in the sea of laughter, yelling, and the (not) grammy winning performance.

Arms crossed as she leant back in her seat, an amused smile on her face as she took in the interaction in front of her, the near silent buzzes went ignored, the second and third messages, each pinging one after the other, unnoticed by the English skipper.

It was only when the noise died down ever so slightly, ironic timing with your final planned text coming in, did she realize what was occurring. 

Small smile already crossing her face, a pretty good idea of who it might be already on her mind, Leah reached for the device beside her, quickly lifting it and smiling wider as the multiple notifications of text messages from you showed on the lock screen. 

Heading to your message thread, her grin grew as she saw the onslaught of texts.

‘Someone was excited to wake up today’

‘The smile’s been there since morning’

‘I think he misses you’

The words were split with a video coming between the first two messages, and a short clip followed the final message.

As Leah hit play on the first clip, unaware of the three sets of eyes on her, a soft look crossed her face- one that very much didn’t go unnoticed by Viv, Steph, and most importantly, McCabe. 

Letting Leah finish watching whatever it was, devious smile ever-present, the Irishwoman made her way over to the blonde, teasing words already slipping past her lips.

“Well, did the missus text ya something? The way your smile’s nearly turned you into the Cheshire Cat, I think you oughta share with us, no?”

And before Leah could even shoot off the barest of replies to you, her phone was promptly taken from her grasp, the blonde left with a shock on her face, mind not yet caught up to what was happening, hand still outstretched from where it had been holding her phone.

Barely able to formulate any sense of a protest Leah watched helplessly as the whole locker room went silent when Katie’s surprised cry rang out, a look of disbelief clear on her face as her head turned dramatically to face the midfielder then the phone in her hands and then the midfielder again, jaw nearly on the floor.

“IS THAT YOURS?”

The bewildered question was unusually loud, capturing the attention of everyone else.

The blonde couldn’t help but nod meekly in response, shrinking in on herself as the unwanted attention directed towards her, an innumerable set of eyes peering at the interaction. 

A red hue spread on her face as Katie continued to stand in front of her, jaw agape, phone now locked automatically as her head turned back to face the black screen. 

As the silence stretched on, neither the blonde nor brunette uttering a single word, the silent Mexican standoff piqued the curiosity of their fellow teammates, Beth and Steph quietly making their way over to peer over Katie’s shoulder only to be met with a black screen. 

“What are you on about?”

And at Beth’s questioning words, Leah sprang into action, quickly rising from where she was resting and reaching to try and grab her phone off the other woman.

Her attempt was futile though, as Katie pulled the locked device behind her back, the other arms snapping out to block Leah from advancing any closer.

“Nope. No. No way. You’re not getting this back until you explain yourself.” 

“Katie- no-“

The protest was cleanly cut off, the Irishwoman reverently shaking her head at the futile attempt.

“That doesn’t sound like an explanation…”

“McCabe…How about I tell you later? Just between us?”

Apparently though, that wasn’t good enough for the rest of the team, a large outcry of protests rising at the words.

It was only Lia who sat back amusedly, watching as she watched the other girls try and get Leah to unlock her phone or get Katie to spill the secret, the Swiss captain already having an idea of what this could be about, a secret she had known since its origin. 

“At least show them the video under the condition that they can’t ask questions today?”

If the sharp glare that her work wife received was any indication, Leah was not at all a fan of the idea, herself concerned if she could even share the videos. 

Turning her gaze back to the rest of the squad huddled around the left winger who still had her phone, she sighed in defeat, clearly realizing she wasn’t going to get out of this one, especially not after that last proposition. 

Sighing, the blonde pinched the bridge of her nose in disbelief, disappointed in herself for giving in.

“Alright. I’ll show you guys what Katie saw, on the condition that I’m not answering any questions today after I show you and I get my phone back first.”

“What if you just sprint out of here with it?”

Rolling her eyes at the remark made by none other than the devil herself, Leah groaned audibly, head thrown back as she rubbed her temples. 

“I’ve got the yellow-card queen in front of me and Jen’s standing by the door…thank you but no thank you- I value my ability to walk…”

The smart-ass reply had Katie hesitantly handing Leah her phone, the blonde promptly texting you for permission to show the team before she actually did.

It wasn’t like you controlled who saw the pictures, but very early on in the whole procedure- the whole relationship really- you both had agreed upon keeping this area of your life private, especially as the game grew to the extent that it did.  

As much as the team knew you existed, you having met them countless times by now, even to the point where Lia would tease that you would’ve been her work wife had you played for Arsenal instead, the existence of the tiny human you and Leah had was very much not common knowledge to the team.

If anything, only the Swiss captain was really the only one who knew in the football world. 

People had their hunches of course, your own teammates at Bayern having an inkling themselves, but it had never been confirmed, and you and the blonde had never been more grateful.

It’s why Leah patiently waited for your go-ahead text to come, shaking her head at the grumbling of her fellow teammates as she waited for a response.

Quieting the team’s grumbling with threats of just waiting them out, Leah smiled in victory as none of them called her bluff, sighing in relief as your text chimed in, nervousness fluttering at the words she read. 

‘I think it’s about time, yeah?’

Nodding to herself and taking a deep breath in, the blonde let out a quick exhale before texting back a quick saluting emoji and a heart in response, waiting for your reply before showing the team the root of the intervention. 

“Okay, so like I said, no questions once I show you, and I get to leave ASAP and you’ll understand why…”

When no one protested at the words, Leah nodded, taking confirmation in the silence and scrolling up in the conversation to find the videos you had sent. 

Proud grin on her face as she turned her phone to face the team, she couldn’t help the way her chest slightly puffed up, chin subconsciously rising in joy.

And as the rest of the team huddled around to get the barest of looks, one by one their jaws dropped, the video on the screen garnering the same reaction as earlier, except this time across the whole room and not just the walking loudspeaker.

Said video that featured your and Leah’s six-month old, eyes half closed as the little guy did a gummy little yawn, arms stretching adorably across the bed before he pulled them back in and shot a cheeky little grin straight towards the camera- the same grin you swear he somehow stole from Leah. 

Hearing the audio cut out and the frozen stares across the room, the team no doubt in a state of shock and confusion, Leah quickly pulled back the phone and swiped to the next video, a mix of pride and nervousness thrumming through her as the second video played. 

It consisted of you holding your son in your arms as you danced around your shared kitchen, music softly being played in the background. And whilst it was cute with the way the toddler was gripping tightly onto your forearms, a toothy grin ever-present on his face, it wasn’t the key part of the video. 

It was what followed the end of the video, the way the drunk-seeming little tiny human babbled the little words with you, repeating the little vowels as you said them. How you looked at the camera before reciting the words, being repeated by the baby and coming out barely legible yet clear as day to the blonde- ‘luv ma ma’.

The utterance of the broken phrase was highlighted by your shocked face as you did a little cheer of your own, looking at your phone before sending the lens a tender smile just before the video cut.

It wasn’t the first time your son had said it, but each day it seemed to get a little clearer, and with each utterance it had Leah’s heart doing a flutter she never knew anyone but you could cause. 

Trying not to get too teared up at the thought of how quickly the days were passing, the skipper snapped herself out of the thoughts, shyly bringing her arm back as she registered the silence in the room. 

Swallowing audibly at the number of shocked faces expectantly looking at her, she turned towards Lia, a pleading look of help on her face as the other woman merely shrugged with a smirk on her face.

Damn the Swiss and their need to be neutral…

Turning back to the sea of Arsenal warm gear, Leah prepared herself mentally, reaching for her bag and quickly shouldering it before tucking her cleats under her arms.

Wincing as the team barely moved, she planned her escape whilst shrugging as if to say ‘well…’

“Surprise? I guess?”

Within milliseconds of the words leaving her, the blonde heard a flurry of questions immediately being sent her way, her previous request tossed out the window without a second glance. 

And as the onslaught of ‘how old is he?’, ‘he or she?’, coupled with the ‘why didn’t you tell us?’, ‘wait since when?’ and of course, the ‘what the fuck Leah???’ (courtesy of Beth of course) barrelled through, the Englishwoman quickly sprinted her way out of the change rooms, those that were just barely dressed and ready to leave immediately following her like a row of ducklings, as the blonde sprinted to her car.

Mentally berating herself on why she didn’t just leave halfway through Beth and Katie’s rendition of ‘I want it that way’, Leah quickly got into her car, reversing before the team had any shot of catching up, phone being (gently) tossed into the backseat as texts started ringing through.

With nearly a half hour passing since the blonde was supposed to be home, and the thought of the little munchkin waiting at home for her (and of course, you), Leah relaxed as she made the drive back home, grimacing at the thought of the chaotic uproar she most definitely left behind, and glad for the chaotic peace that awaited her a handful of minutes away.

Smiling at the contrast, a small grin overtook her face, gratefully for the overgrown kids she had with football, and the small tot she had at home.

Yeah, maybe life didn’t get any better than this, the perfect mix of chaos and love never-ending…she’d happily take this. 

~~~

inspo for this post was literally this insta reel - can't tell me that isn't absolutely adorableeeeee

[beardedjoel]

pretty little wife | meet cute, part 2

joel miller x f!reader one shot collection

series masterlist | main masterlist | ao3 | ✨kofi ✨ summary: 9.5k words; joel takes you on your first date, and it doesn't end up like he'd planned. not that either of you seem to mind, of course. warnings: 18+ MDNI! no apocalypse au, relationship/dynamic not established yet like the other chapters, unprotected piv, rough sex, oral sex (f receiving), reader is a little bratty in this chapter, talks of brat punishment, sub/dom relationship, dirty talk, pet names for reader, joel is so fucking handsy here i am Feral, minor bits of angst (reader backstory stuff) a/n: welp apparently i am incapable of writing a short chapter for these two right now >< i'm really loving the way that pretty wife started out a bit bratty and has this pipeline to being joel's good little wife it's kinda doing something for me

You don’t know if your heartbeat could get any louder, nearly drowning out the trill of the line ringing in your ear. You’re moments away from speaking to your mystery man from the bar again, to Joel, who’d seemed intent on changing the entirety of your life with one single fuck in a bar bathroom.

“Hello, Miller Contracting,” a deep voice lumbers out on the other end, sounding nearly clinical with the greeting. You have no doubt it's Joel - his voice feels too recognizable, the deep richness of it combined with his Texas twang that had you absolutely swooning last night. You will your lips to part, for words to rush out, but you pause, trying to get the lump out of your throat.

“Uh - Joel?” you croak out.

“Mhm,” he replies absentmindedly. You picture him at a desk somewhere, sorting through papers, or working on a construction site, his muscles bulging out his shirt and you’re temporarily lost to the fantasy. “What can I do for you?”

“I-it’s me -” you say, repeating your name to him. “From last night…” you add on.

He laughs, a deep rumble in the phone, and your heart lifts what feels like miles within your chest. “Yeah, from last night, didn’t need to clarify, sweetheart.”

“S-sorry. I’m Nervous,” you say simply, wringing your hands together on your lap.

“Now hang on a second, how’d you get this number? Don’t recall givin’ it out,” Joel says, a hint of playfulness in his voice. The fact that he seems eager to talk to you, tease you, immediately dissipates the nervousness you’d had about calling him. 

“Er, I’m persistent, that’s all I’ll say,” you tell him with a flush of your cheeks.

“Well, if I’m honest, I’m happy as hell to hear from ya,” Joel says. You feel your eyebrows twitch and mouth part in surprise.

“You are?” You wish you didn’t sound so desperately surprised by the fact, but the words tumbled out of you before you could stop them.

“Felt like a damn idiot, forgettin’ to get your number last night. Not how a gentleman should act.” You can practically visualize Joel shaking his head at himself and running a hand through his hair on the other end.

“And you think you acted like a gentleman otherwise?” You smirk and bite your lip, already feeling a tingling in your limbs, a slow, swirling pool of arousal sinking deep into your gut.

Joel chuckles and makes a small humming sound. “Maybe not, but it got you callin’ me, didn’t it?”

You laugh heartily and agree with a sultry “mm-hmm.”

“So listen, I knew if I ever got to speak to you again, I wanted to… uh-” Joel clears his throat, and you can hear a slight wobbling, like he’s nervous. “See if I could take you on a proper date.”

“Oh really, a date? Not just a bar bathroom this time?” you ask, trying to quell a little bit of your excitement, play it cool around him. You’re having a hard time believing that he’d want to take you out, for some reason. This past year or so has been a slew of failed dates, refusals to call back, men telling you one reason or another you no longer interested them. This tended to happen after they’d already gotten something from you, which had only served to make you feel worse about the entire thing. You tried not to let it get to you, but really, you were craving to be loved, to be seen for who you were and loved for it. That was something you hadn’t gotten enough of in your life.

“Now listen, if you’re gonna be like that, maybe I don’t need t’take you out, do I?” Joel teases, and the tingling in your core intensifies, your legs rubbing together just at the low drawl of his voice prodding at you.

“I’d love to, Mr. Miller,” you say coyly, and you hear a sharp hiss of breath from Joel’s end.

“Little shit,” he mumbles.

“What’s that?” you lick your lips and fight the urge to twirl your hair, the feeling of getting him so riled up just over the phone giving you a perverse little twinge of satisfaction.

“Fuck, I need to see you again,” he nearly groans, and you’re unsure if he’d even meant the words for you to hear, so low and quiet. ”Dinner this Friday, then?” Joel asks you, and you bite your lip and scrunch your face up in excitement, knowing he can’t see you.

“It’s a date.”

Joel picks you up that Friday at 6:30, a bit of a sweating, anxious mess after fussing over your makeup and outfit for the last two hours. You end up landing on a white, frilly mini dress with a corset top, knowing your tits are on perfect display for him. A devious huff of laughter leaves you when you reach into your underwear drawer and dig out your sheer white over the knee stockings with a lace trim at the top and slide them up your legs. Maybe you are in the mood to be a bit of menace for him tonight, you think to yourself. The thought of Joel’s eyes practically falling out of his head when he sees you in this makes you smile and nearly squeal with delight as you put your finishing touches to your outfit with accessories and a touch up of your shimmery lip gloss.

When you bound outside of your apartment building, you can see a nearly pained expression on Joel’s face through the windows of his blue truck, pulled up right in front of your building. You hear the clicking of your little heels on the pavement, giving you a boost of confidence as you stride towards him, feeling your hair bouncing behind you.

You feel… fucking hot. And you know it’s partly because of who you know is going to be looking at you all night. Joel takes too long to stare and enjoy the view of you walking over before he’s scurrying out of his truck to reach you and grab the car door. 

“Evenin’,” he says, clearing his throat and you notice he seems a bit more quiet and shy in the light of day. He seems almost dazed, trying to take in as much of you as he can in just a few seconds, blinking as he processes just how tiny everything you’re wearing is.

“Got you these,” he says, holding out a small bouquet of flowers full of different pastel flowers and greenery. You can tell he put some thought into it, that he didn’t just pick a random bouquet and roll with it, and it makes you smile. 

“Thank you,” you say, studying the flowers for an extra beat. “Such a gentleman,” you coo as you step past him and start to climb into the seat. He huffs a little as you pass and shoots his hand out to grab your wrist, a tight hold as he yanks you back towards him. He doesn’t waste a second before pulling you flush with him, pressing the tops of your tits further out of your dress and onto his chest, covered in a button up shirt. His hand splays along the small of your back, rough and warm, seeping through the fabric of your dress. He leans down, capturing your lips with his.

“Not gonna give me a proper hello, were you?” he rasps once he pulls away. “Thought you were a polite girl.”

Your lips part and spread into a little smile as you lick your lips. “Sorry,” you say, putting your eyes down to the pavement for a moment before lifting them back up to his and cupping his face, raking your fingers through his beard and leaning back in for a soft, chaste kiss. “There’s your hello.”

“Mhm” Joel mumbles before he takes your hand in his, guiding you into his truck where you settle in, wrapping the seatbelt around yourself and watching him walk back around the front of the truck to the drivers side, admiring the way his button up hugs his broad form. 

When he sits down, instead of starting the truck he just looks over at you, drinking in your show of skin, hungry glances all over your body until his gaze lands on your tits, the swells of your breasts heaving slightly as you breathe nervously now that you’re alone with him. 

“You look like a goddamn angel, or somethin’,” he finally says, flicking his eyes to the tops of your stockings, and you notice his jaw set tightly while his hands clench in his lap. He softens a little once he looks at your face, amused eyes looking back into his. “Beautiful,” he adds, and you beam at him, twirling a bit of your hair around one of your fingers.

“Thank you,” you say shyly, leaning a little closer to him, knowing your cleavage is only being pushed together that much more at this angle in your seat. “You want me to be your little angel, Joel?”

“Christ…” he says under his breath, reaching his hands up to grip the steering wheel, knuckles going white with the strain of it. “Think you already seem to know the answer.”

“Well, I’ll take it you like my outfit, then. I picked it out special for you,” you tell him cheerfully, flouncing the skirt of your dress in your lap a bit. 

“Sure do,” he says quickly, starting the car, seeming to need to high tail it out of here before he completely ditches the dinner reservation to have his way with you. You opt to just watch Joel drive, observing his profile with a small, thoughtful smile. You see his brows twitch as he feels your stare on him, and he turns to the side while he’s stopped at a red light, giving you a closed lip smile.

“Did you just ask me on a date because you felt bad?” you ask suddenly, biting the inside of your cheek.

“Felt bad?” Joel asks, turning his eyes back to the road. 

“For what happened the other night.”

Joel huffs in the seat next to you, his head shaking the smallest bit. “You think I felt bad about any of that? What gave you that idea, now?”

“I… I don’t know. I was just surprised you still wanted to take me out after…” you trail off, glancing out the window to try and avoid your own spiraling thoughts.

“C’mon, doll, need to give me more than that. If you don’t wanna be here you gotta say.”

“No!” you cry out a little too loudly.

“If you just need to hear me say that I liked fuckin’ your tight little pussy or whatever gets you off, just say it, yeah? Don’t need these roundabout questions like a little brat,” Joel snips, and you swallow hard, realizing he’s gotten the complete wrong idea.

“N-no, nothing like that, Joel, I… I really want to be here, I really do. I guess I was worried,” you suck in a breath. “That you’d just be done with me after you got what you wanted. That’s what other guys have done. Older guys.” You can feel your voice getting mousier, quieting with your confession, afraid that the answer will be exactly what you’re afraid of. Joel’s expression softens, the lines between his brows letting up as his eyes lighten a bit.

“First off, I ain’t other guys, and I want you gettin’ that in your head right now, okay?” Joel says, glancing over to see you nodding small little bounces of your head, eyes wide. “Okay?” he asks again, a little more stern this time, reaching a hand over to grip your thigh.

“Okay.” 

“Good. An’ I ain’t even close to getting everything I want from you, probably never could be, so don’t wanna hear you say anythin’ like that again, got it?” His grip squeezes on your thigh, and you place your hand over it, covering his hand with your own.

Your mind spins, reeling with such a strong confession from him. You don’t know how it’s possible that after one night together, the both of you have something damn near unexplainable, something that’s been nestling itself deep into you since then. You tilt your head a little, giving him a soft smile, feeling all the worries you’d had this entire week start to melt away.

“Got it,” you tell him with a stern nod, your hair falling over your shoulder.

“Good girl,” he says, patting your thigh a few times. They twitch and clamp together a bit with his praise, the familiar rush of arousal from the other night coming back to you when he used those same words. You catch Joel smirking out of the corner of your eye, the effect he had with those two simple words not lost on him. 

You can see his face steel, his jaw setting tighter as his fingers move up your thigh, unsticking from the bare flesh he’d been touching and climbing upwards.

“You dress like this a lot? Or just wanted to get a rise out of an old man, hm?” he asks, fingers digging into your plush skin a little harder.

You twist your lips into a thoughtful pout, knowing it shows off the shiny pink of your lip gloss a little better, and Joel’s eyes drift there for a brief moment when he glances at you. 

“Sometimes.” You give him an indifferent shrug. “Mostly wanted to see how you liked it.”

“I’ll bet you did,” Joel replies plainly, nearly sounding irritated, but you somehow know that he’s more angry with himself right now, barely able to keep his trembling hand from moving further up your thigh.

“I mean, I thought the stockings might be too much, but don’t you think they go just perfect with this dress?” You trill in an innocent tone to him, moving his hand to play with the lace edges at the top.

“Mmm,” Joel replies, lips pressed tightly together. His fingers bury themselves under the band of the stockings, pads of his calloused hands grazing the skin underneath. You try to hold back a shudder but it’s no use, Joel’s touch is fully electric, sending a zip of pleasure up your spine. 

Your legs spread open wider in the seat, inviting him to move higher and you let out a quieter moan and slide the hem of your dress up a bit higher. You’re warm all over, skin flushing as his hand creeps up towards the apex of your thighs. You admit you’re having even more fun than you thought teasing him. He’d done this same thing to you at the bar, sloppily kissing along your neck until you’d felt nearly insane with need for him, and it gives you a little pump of satisfaction to see him falling apart so quickly. 

“Even got…” you breathe out, “The matching panties on.” Another tiny little mewl slips out when Joel’s fingertips slide along your inner thigh, ever closer to where you know you’re already wet for him. He peers over to see your chest heaving a bit, curves looking so inviting - all it would take was one little tug and your tits would be spilling out, just as they had the other night, so pretty and just for him. 

“Fuck it,” Joel grunts out, tearing his hand away from you and pulling off to the side of the road, turning into a passing neighborhood and swinging the car into the closest driveway to turn around. “I live close by, we’re goin’ to my place right now,” he says. “Fuckin’ wearin’ this little shit to get me all worked up…” His voice is mumbling now, seemingly to angrily talk to himself as he keeps his eyes straight ahead, not looking at you. 

His face is going pink with the effort of holding back from you, grunting while he maneuvers the car and speeds off, booking it towards his house. Your mouth forms perfect O before it splits into a grin, knowing you got exactly what you wanted from him. Something about driving a man like Joel crazy - someone who seems reserved, in control of these kinds of situations, makes you feel a little spark of pride mixed with your dousing of arousal.

“Teach you some damn manners, that’s what I’m gonna do,” Joel mumbles quietly, letting out little sighs of irritation.

“J-joel…?” you ask carefully.

“Mm-mm, not a word right now. You’ve said enough.”

You clamp your lips together, knowing you maybe shouldn’t be as thrilled as you are right now, feeling like sparks are dancing across your skin, magnifying right where Joel holds you, squeezing to where it might leave a bruise tomorrow, as if to hold you down, keep you in this car with him.

“Please…” you whimper, unsure what you’re asking for, just knowing you’re growing more desperate to feel him on you, inside of you.

“Please nothin’. You’re gonna act like this, I’m gonna react accordingly, you got that?” Joel snips, veins on his forehead protruding as he drives along, unable to even look in your direction. You stay silent while he whips through a suburban neighborhood, finally pulling into his driveway. 

“Stay,” he spits out before exiting the car, coming over to your side and opening the door. 

“Thank you,” you coo sweetly, which gets a devious smirk from Joel. 

“You’re tryin’ to be good now, are you?” he scoffs, wrapping his hand around your upper arm. 

“Thought you liked fucking good girls,” you say with a sly smile, repeating his own words back to him. He chuckles low and deep in his chest before tugging you out of the car, keeping one hand on your arm and the other pressed on your lower back, guiding you to the front door. Instead of letting you step out of the way, he presses himself so that you’re between his body and the door as he reaches around to unlock it, keys clanking in his awkward position. 

You can feel him, hard and long, cock painfully erect and pressing against your ass. You fight the urge to grind into him, thinking that maybe he may not see that as something a good girl would do. Instead, you let a little whimper slip out when he digs into you deeper as he turns the nob and pushes the door in. 

“Gonna be makin’ a lot more of those pretty little noises soon, honey,” he says low, near your ear as he nudges you inside. It’s dark, only bits of the setting sun coming through the windows, and you fumble past the doorway, the only anchor you have is Joel’s hand on your back. 

He flicks a switch, illuminating the room with a dim floor lamp, and you can see that you’ve stepped into his living room. It’s modest but cozy, and definitely seems to ooze his busy, bachelor lifestyle with plain, somewhat mismatched furniture. You had to hand it to him, though, just upon first glance he seemed relatively clean, unlike some men’s places you’d visited. 

“This is a nice pl-“ you start, cut off by one of Joel’s arms wrapping around your torso and pulling you into him with a thud. Your back is tight against his chest now, his head burying near the crook of your neck. He’s kissing you urgently - every spot he can find, biting and sucking and flicking his tongue, all gentle but firm, full of an unrelenting passion and frustration.

He groans loudly, hand tracing up your chest to grasp at one of your tits, squeezing it firmly and running his finger over your nipple. Both are hard and aching for him, poking through the fabric of your dress with no bra holding them back. He sucks so hard on a spot on the side of your neck that you gasp and twitch in his hold. He chuckles, quickly soothing the spot with his tongue and lips. 

“Couldn’t wait for me to get my hands on you, is that it? Why you dressed like that, hopin’ I’d bring you back here? Say fuck the nice dinner reservation I made us?” he finally speaks, nearly growling in your ear.

“I just - I-“ you stutter, mind reeling from his warmth blazing into your skin now, his voice rumbling close to your ear, low and gritty and sounding… almost angry with you. You feel a tightening in your core, pooling between your legs and you already start to ache for him, turned on by the way he’s chastising you and covering you with marks. 

“You were such a good girl the other night for me, can you do that again? Or you want to keep bein’ a brat?”

“N-no I liked being good for you, remember?” you blurt out, chest heaving and body fighting the urge to squirm out of his arms and show him, get on your knees and finally get him in your mouth. 

“Didn’t seem to think so in the car… if I didn’t know any better you wanted me to punish you, fuck you fuckin’ dumb ‘til you submit to me. And the thing is, honey, I like my girls to be good f’me. Don’t wanna have to work for it unless I want to.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just wanted to play around, make you a little crazy for me,” you say with a whine, your bottom lip starting to quiver. 

“C’mere, lemme see you,” Joel says, a quick grunt as he spins you around, catching you along your back with one hand, tilting your head up by the chin with the other. He takes in your wide, pleading eyes, plump lips turned into a frightened frown, and sighs. 

“S’okay, doll,” he says much softer, thumbing your chin and then stroking his fingers up your cheek. “Lucky for you I was in the mood to work for it a bit tonight, and you know why that is?”

You shake your head mutely, absolutely dumbstruck by his dark eyes narrowed and looking straight into yours. He’s so beautiful, so much more than you even remembered from the other night. It nearly sends an ache into your chest, just how perfect he is. 

“‘Cause you’re worth it, pretty girl. What kinda man would I be if I didn’t have to work for it a bit, hm?” His voice is changed, a bit more flexible, his tone coming off kinder now. You feel a surprised smile tugging at your mouth and you let it spread a bit, showing Joel that you’re pleased with what he said. 

“Show you how pretty you are…” he trails off, his eyes drifting down to your chest, where he’s watching your curves spilling out the top, your dress pulled down from the way he’d been touching you there. He tugs slowly on the fabric, pulling it so your tits are both spilling out, letting the neckline tuck underneath and press them upwards. 

He leans down to capture your lips in a softer kiss, letting your lips and tongues begin a gentle dance with each other. Joel’s fingers make their way under your dress, sliding the hem up to reach your ass, large palms splaying across both globes. He pulls you even closer, grinding you against his arousal and you groan, absolutely soaking for him, needing for him to touch you where you want him most. 

“Got your ass and tits out like a little whore for me now, don’t you? Like being my little whore?” he grits out, and you nod with a quiet mhm, lolling your head back as he places a few little bites on your neck. 

“Let me fuck you in that bathroom and comin’ home with me the first date ‘fore I can even buy you dinner,” Joel tuts, continuing to knead the plush flesh on your ass, stepping forward so that you have no choice but to walk backwards and further into the living room. He smacks your ass hard before rubbing the spot with a soothing touch. 

“Now get inside and take what you’ve been askin’ for, honey,” he says, stroking the side of your face gently. 

“W-where do you want me?” you ask timidly, looking into his chest before trying to meet his eyeline. He’s so intimidatingly in charge right now you can hardly meet his gaze, dark brown, nearly black in the dimness of the house. 

Joel seems to like your question, smirking and stroking your cheek again, calloused fingers sending a jolt of electricity that travels down your spine. “Good girl for askin’,” he coos, a flash of excitement in his eyes at your docility for him. He takes his hands to your shoulders, gently guiding you to stand in front of the couch. He turns and sinks back into the cushions, watching you stand in front of him, anxious with anticipation. 

“You gonna dress like a slutty little doll, I’m gonna treat ya like one and play with you as long as I want, yeah?” A quick, stunned nod from you before he continues. “Now take off that pretty dress,” he says, his tone deepening with the command. His eyes are glued to your chest where your tits are still popping out of the top, practically burning a hole in you with the intensity, heat creeping over your skin. You lift from the bottom, pulling it over your head in one slow movement, standing before Joel in only the skimpy lacy thong you’d chosen for tonight - white to match your dress and stockings. You reach to pull the stockings down and Joel shakes his head, eyes snapping to where your hands are. 

“Mm-mm, didn’t tell you to do that now, did I? Leave those on, doll. Panties next,” he drawls, and you follow his command, stepping out of your thong and leaving it on the floor beneath your feet. You take a nervous gulp, waiting for his next words, feeling right between your legs slickening even more as his eyes hungrily take you in. 

“C'mon over and sit right here,” Joel says, patting his lap. His words have an immediate effect, just like when he’d asked you to get on your knees at the bar, your body moving for him of its own accord. You pad over the few steps to him and settle yourself onto his lap so that you’re facing him, thighs on either side of his. Joel’s hands find your hips, holding you and stroking his thumbs along your bare skin there. There’s such a stark difference between the two of you right now - Joel, fully clothed, not even a button undone yet on his shirt, and you with the entirety of your body naked and exposed save for your stockings, sitting on top of him because he’d asked for it. All the fabric on your bare skin feels odd in the best way, like you’re doing something so wrong yet so right at the same time, like you’re Joel’s dirty little secret somehow with the way he has you in the palm of his hand right now.

He cocks his head a little, looking at you more seriously now. “Now listen, should’ve said this the other night, but you saw how I like to be in charge of things, right?” he says.

You nod. “Yeah,” you breathe out, just barely. You’re distracted by the feel of his broad, muscled body beneath you, his hard length pressing into you through his jeans. You feel your head swimming but you try to focus on his words.

“So tonight if it gets to be too much, if somethin’ is wrong, you gotta call out ‘red’ for me, mkay?”

You nod again. 

“Gonna need you to use your words, honey.”

“Yes, I got it. Red,” you repeat back to him, and the ghost of a smile comes to his lips. 

“Good girl,” Joel says, tucking your hair behind your ears and smoothing it. “Now…” he trails off, his grip tightening on you in an instant to flip you off of him and next to him on the couch cushions, his body following closely behind so that he’s on top of you. His mouth crashes into yours, all heat and tongue and teeth clashing and you moan into it with surprise, still trying to get your bearings from all the sudden movement.

He slips down your body, his lips trailing a hot, wet mess along the way as he sucks your neck, your tits, briefly swirling a tease of his tongue over one of your nipples before he finds his way between your legs. They fall open for him in your dizzied state and he takes no pause before burying his head there, licking fat stripe up your slit, groaning loudly at the taste of you. He licks the same pattern several times, relishing in all the slick arousal that was just for him, he thinks greedily.

When Joel starts to lap at your cunt in earnest, his tongue poking your entrance before flicking at your clit, repeating the motions over and over, you throw your head back, whining loudly and writhing down into his face and chasing your pleasure.

“F-fuck, I’m -” you whimper. “Joel I’m already gonna -” Your legs shake and he seizes one of your thighs into his palms before the other hand slips between your legs and swiftly buries two fingers inside of you, going deep to press against your g-spot. You’d thought endlessly about that feeling since the night with him in the bar, the way he’d been the first person to show you what you’d been missing, to bring you world ending pleasure when he split you open. You’re desperate for it again, knowing his fingers are enough, but you can’t help but picture the way his girth had stretched you, pressed into you so deeply that you already felt addicted to it.

When he pulls your clit into his mouth, pressing on the spongy part inside of you at the same time, you cry out, feeling your hips bucking into him, body taut and shaking as he pulls your orgasm out of you. His name spills from your lips as easily as anything you’ve ever said in your life, like you’ve been saying it for years and no other man has existed for you, could exist for you.

You slump back, breathless and wanting, a sheen of sweat coating your body from the intensity with which he’d rocked your reality, and you quickly realize he’s likely far from done with you tonight. It makes your stomach churn with anticipation, and you bring yourself back, focusing on the gentle touch of his lips on your sensitive nerves, peppering your pussy with little kisses, leading out to your thighs.

“Good fucking girl f’me, didn’t take long at all, did it?” he says wryly. 

“M-more…” you mumble, blinking your eyes to clear some of the post-climax fog you’re feeling, but it’s no use - Joel can see already how fucked out you are, barely even five minutes in. His heart swells with pride, excitement, the sick satisfaction of having you under his thumb, his to devour completely, body and soul.

He presses a kiss to your forehead, then your nose, finally meeting your desperate, soft lips with his. He’s on top of you, his body slithering over yours again, pressing against you. Your hands reach up and start to unbutton his shirt, hesitantly at first, but a small noise of approval from him urges you on, indicating that he’s okay with you making that decision. When he finally shrugs it off, you take a moment to pull yourself back from his kisses to gaze down at him, his bare chest revealed to you for the first time. You feel your sex ache as fresh arousal starts to drip out of you seeing the salt and pepper of the curls on his chest, his defined but still soft abdomen, so inviting and sexy. You start to feel nearly feral, your gut coiling tight with the need for him to fuck you again, to watch his perfect body relentlessly use you for his own pleasure.

“S-shit…” you manage to gasp out when you gingerly run a hand down his chest, letting your nails scratch through his hair, and Joel hums against you as his lips find your shoulder. You rake your fingers downwards, leading all the way to his happy trail where you leave your fingers to rest on his belt. He looks delighted at your visceral reaction to his body, never thinking much of it himself, the way it had gotten slightly doughy with age and his hair had already started graying. But seeing you see so much in it that he can feel your legs tighten underneath him, pussy likely fluttering just at the sight, makes his core twist in pleasure and his cock twitch.

He caresses your face gently, his touch soft despite the mischief growing in his eyes. “Don’t think you learned your lesson yet, bein’ such a brat in the car,” he says, letting you start to undo his belt. When his cock springs out, you nearly start again at how length and thick it is, nearly having forgotten just how stunning it was outside the confines of your memory. 

Joel notices your fresh reaction to his cock, the length of him twitching in anticipation to fuck you to pieces, to fuck you into being a good girl again. He can’t help but remember just how much it had shut you up to take his cock just a few nights ago, and he nearly whimpers at the memory alone. 

“N-no? Don’t think so?” you tease back, grinding yourself against his bare and freed cock and Joel responds first with a surly little growl, two of his fingers possessively gripping your chin. His eyes flash in a way that you think should scare you, but you can’t help but feel comforted by Joel’s presence nonetheless.

“Exactly what I’m talkin’ about, bratty little ass, y’are. And let me fill you in on somethin’ for your own good,” he drawls, running his thumb along your lower lip. Your breath is baited as your lips part in invitation to him and he doesn’t slip it inside, not yet, at least. He hikes your hip up with his other hand, angling you towards his body as he steps closer between your legs. “I don’t like brats, I want my girl to be nice ‘n good to me. Are you gonna be nice ‘n good to me, doll?” he says, finishing the thought.

You swallow hard. You don’t know how serious he is, if this is part of some bigger game of his, this dominance he likes to have. You feel a pull in your heart, like you find yourself agreeing with him, that the look he’d given you when he called you good girl and obedient the other night were exactly what you’d been seeking your entire life. There was something there, something to take pride in, that he thought you were doing good enough for him. You’d wanted to tease him tonight, sure, make sure he still thought you were beautiful and sexy, afraid you’d get left behind so quickly in the more than likely slew of women he could have interested in him. Joel’s version of sexy just happened to be someone submissive for him, and the way you’d felt being that for him the other night, so far tonight, it was exhilarating, like a part of you that you’d had no idea existed until now, until him.

“I don’t want to be a brat,” you say quietly, gazing up at him with delicate eyes now, having your decision made. You reach a hand down to his cock, practically pulsating with need for you, sitting so close to your warm heat as he hovers above you. You gently palm it, wrapping your hand around the shaft, admiring the fact that your fingers can’t even fit around the expansive girth of it.

“I want to be your good girl,” you breathe, and Joel’s eyebrow cocks before his thumb settles into your mouth as he groans a little. You sit still, the saltiness of his skin so inviting but you don’t dare move, feeling that it's some kind of test, one you intend on passing.

Joel knows that you’ve figured it out. He strokes the side of your hair lovingly with his free hand and chuckles deep and low, the sound reverberating in the quiet room.

“Suck,” he finally commands, and immediately you suckle on his thumb, hollowing your cheeks and swirling your tongue around it. Joel’s eyes flutter a bit and he groans between the feel of your hand on his cock and warm tongue wrapping around his thumb. He pushes it deeper and deeper, another one of his fingers entering your mouth, met with the same enthusiasm by your tongue. He gives a final push of his fingers, gagging you, and your hand falls off his cock, having you distracted enough that you barely notice he’s notched himself at your entrance. When he splits you open with his head you gasp around his fingers, stuffed far back in your throat. It burns and aches and stretches but you feel exhilarated by it, awakened and alive by the absolute girth of him breaking you open and finding a place inside of you as he pushes on inch by inch.

“Good girl,” he whispers roughly, eyes intently locked onto yours as they widen and tear up with all the different intrusive sensations. But despite all of that, your insides warm at his words, finding a home in your heart and nestling in. That’s when you know for sure - you’re done for, you’re a goner, this is the man you’ll spend your life doing this for, chasing and seeking those two little words from him no matter what it takes. You want this.

“Y’sure that’s what you want? Be my good little doll? Be sure before I use you like one,” he says, checking in with you quietly, his lips lingering just above yours.

You nod, your breath hitching, and he can see the fear of the unknown in your eyes, but he smiles at your willingness to try for him. “I want it, I want it, use me, Joel,” you breathe out erratically, the words tumbling out of you without a second thought.

The next moment is nearly a blur, a switch seeming to flip in Joel as pops his fingers out of your mouth, grunting with the effort of yanking your hips upwards so that you have no choice but to wrap your legs around him. He begins a relentless fucking into you, pounding his cock over and over, and its only now that you can see just how well controlled he had been these last few minutes, so collected only to unleash it on you now. Your eyes squeeze shut, rolling back into your head as you bite back the cries of him stretching you so quickly and harshly, so much more rough than the other night.

“Fuck…” he groans, “Tight little pussy, could never forget how good it feels, just like I remembered, baby,” he praises as he continues to jackhammer into you. Your body is crumpled up underneath his huge frame on the couch, legs moving further up his body until they nearly reach his shoulders. He takes the initiative to tug them that way, propping your ankles onto his shoulders before he takes a swift bite at one of them. You yelp but quiet immediately, letting the soft moans you’d been making slip past your lips again instead. 

You see Joel’s approval in his smirk, the way his face contorts with pleasure as he goes red from exertion, his body gathering sweat as you run a desperate hand down his chest. You feel so far away in this position, your lips so far from his, wanting to feel your skin touching in every possible spot. You’re drunk on him already and need more, more of his warmth and his scent and the feeling of him. 

“I want to - p-please, feel you closer, please…” you beg, hoping that your politeness will win him over into doing something that you want.

“Yeah? Want to bounce on this fat cock of mine, pretty girl? That do you some good?”

You nod quickly and urgently, breathing in with the anticipation of being moved as Joel pushes his cock as deep as he can before bracing himself to swap your spots. It feels effortless, the way he contorts the both of you until he’s laying back on the sofa and you’re straddled on top of him. 

“Oh my god…” you murmur when you sink fully down onto him. Your head tilts back and mouth gapes open as you feel him so fully, pressing so deep inside of you at this angle. “Joel…”

“I know, baby, m’so deep in there,” Joel says soothingly now, his demeanor changed for the moment. He starts to move your body for you, achingly slow on his cock while he urges your hips up and down. One hand slides to your belly, gently pushing low down on your abdomen. “Feel m’self right in there, baby, right where I’m meant to be,” he coos, looking at his hand in amazement. 

“Feels so fuckin’... so good,” you whine, starting to move more quickly on top of him. You can’t compare it to anything else, anyone else you’ve ever been with, the way Joel’s cock stretches you with each new thrust, the pain giving way to an aching pleasure as your walls are stimulated over and over by him.

“C’mere,” Joel grunts out, wrapping his bulky biceps around your back and pulling you down so that your top half is more flat against his chest. He slips one hand into your hair, bringing you in for a deep, hungry kiss that you both moan into. At this angle he holds more power, able to thrust up into you after he bends his knees. You’re losing all sense of time, of sensation and noise around you, just Joel Joel Joel Joel Joel fucking into you with everything he’s got, his hot breath on your neck and ear and buried into the side of your hair. His lips warm and wet on any part he can find while you take and take and take what he’s doling out, your cunt starting to ache from the way he’s pounding into you but desperately begging for more, fluttering around his length. Your moans ramp up when you feel your clit start to brush against the curls at the base of his cock, his name whispered into his neck in between your cries. 

“There we go, doll, get what y’need, c’mon,” he says near your ear, urging you on. You’re only brought back to some semblance of reality as Joel smacks your ass with a swift, hard slap and you moan out. A new flutter and gush from your cunt around him makes Joel grunt and he fucks up into you like a crazed, possessed man, intent on only you you you. 

“Tha’s right, honey, so fuckin’ wet for me,” Joel grits, his hips snapping in a nearly impossible pace into you. You think you’re starting to black out, your vision a bit spotty from how hard he’s ramming the entirety of his cock into you, your g-spot so stimulating along with your clit and you’re grasping at the cushions on either side of you, nearly pounding your fists into them as Joel holds you close, not letting you move an inch, not letting this climax get away from either of you. 

“God, Joel, fuck… I c-can’t -“ you whine, your entire body tightening, damp with sweat as your tits slide across his chest with each new thrust. 

“Y’can, now be a good girl and come for me,” Joel says, hot heat of his lips meeting yours for a sloppy kiss, both of your tongues half missing the others’ mouth, making a mess on your faces full of saliva and the remnants of your lip gloss. Everything is so slick, slippery, and you gush between your legs, your wet arousal dripping out around where he enters you again and again. 

You snap, the invisible tether you’ve visualized inside of yourself finally breaking and you let go, practically convulsing on top of Joel with erratic grunts and moans and the lewdest sounds you’ve ever heard yourself make. You bear down on his cock as he rides you through the waves of ecstasy that take over your entire being. 

“Good girl,” he coos over and over, his quiet praises only serving to plunge you further into this blinding hot cavern of bliss that you’ve fallen into. You can feel how his cock slips in and out around the way you’re creaming over his length, and you finally quiet into his chest, a spent mess. 

Joel stops moving for a moment, giving you time to catch your breath as he strokes the back of your head. You nearly want to purr with the contentment you feel as he lightly drags his fingers across your head.

“Your turn,” you finally say, a wry smile pulling at your lips. You pick yourself up a bit, wiggling your hips on him and hissing a little at the oversensitivity of your shot nerves. 

“My turn,” Joel echoes, a devious little twinkle in his eye is all you see before he sits up, pulling you close and kissing you as he ruts his hips into yours a few times. He quickly pulls out of you, handling your body roughly but smoothly as he turns you, pushing you down, knees on the cushions and chest pressing against the back of the couch. He crowds behind you, spreading your knees for you and you can feel his wet cock slap against your ass as he positions you and then himself. 

Joel’s cock forces its way between your legs again, immediately sliding into your wet heat. You bristle a little under the full size of him again, determined to take it like the good girl you say you are and let him spill every drop of cum he has inside of you. You realize you’ve said some version of that out loud in your mental fog when Joel chuckles a low, devious little noise and slams into you hard. 

“Yeah? Want all my cum, want to have me fuckin’ my cum into you, fillin’ you up?” Joel asks and you nod dazedly in reply. He plants a firm hand on your back, sinking you into the back of the couch while he pounds into you, chasing after his pleasure, using you to get himself off. You’ve never been more turned on, and you feel the creeping need of desire filling low in your belly again. 

Joel’s free hand starts to smack your ass relentlessly, as if to spur you on while you bounce your hips back into his movements. 

“Yeah, pretty girl, so good, takin’ this cock like a good girl,” he chants, erratic movements of his hips telling you how close he is. 

“Fuck, fuck, so tight…” he bellows out, “Gonna come inside you, baby.” One more thrust and he’s done for, his hips sputtering and stopping deep inside of you as he unleashes while your cunt flutters, your body reacting in pure effervescent joy to feel his spend coating you again. Joel wraps his arms around your chest, yanking you to fall back with him so that you’re laying side by side, tangled in each other's arms. You both breathe heavily, sweat and stickiness intermingling as you lay so close. 

“We missed our dinner reservation,” Joel says after a few moments of silence stating the very obvious. “We could order some takeout, how’s that sound?”

You listen to the beat of his heart where your head rests on his chest, steady and strong as it still comes down from his climax. You hum a little approving noise, nodding your head. 

“Yeah, that sounds good,” you tell him, barely able to care much about anything else right now. You think in this completely fucked out, limp state you’d let him feed you practically anything, spooning each bite into your mouth like you’re a helpless child. The thought makes you shudder a bit, a feeling of fear creeping over you that someone could have such an effect on you as to change you like that, to pull this side of you out that you’d buried deep inside. 

“Don’t wanna move, though,” you whine, snuggling down onto his chest. 

“I know, I know,” Joel says soothingly with a hand running down your hair. “Gonna have to eat to keep up with what I’m gonna do to ya next, though.”

You lift an intrigued brow and glance up at his face to find him already giving you an amused expression. “I’ll order us some food, why don’t you put on your pretty dress again and we’ll pretend we got our date, how about that?” he says.

You bite your lip in an effort not to smile too widely, and you give him another nod of agreement, finally sitting up and then clambering off the couch and stretching. Joel’s eyes roam your still bare body, unable to believe he could be ready for another round this quickly when his cock twitches at the sight. You throw on your dress and adjust it, smoothing the sides of your hair. 

“How do I look?” you ask innocently with a twirl, as if he hadn’t just been buried deep inside of you, stealing any semblance of reality from your very being. 

“Perfect,” he says with a chuckle. 

Joel orders Chinese food, and the two of you sit at his kitchen table, a candle lit that Joel had dug out from deep within a cabinet sitting between you two at the table. 

While you’re already sure the physical attraction with Joel isn’t wanting for anything, you’re pleasantly surprised to find that you two are connecting on all sorts of topics - from old country music that you listened to growing up to your dream vacation destinations. It seems like you two have more and more in common the longer you talk, or at the least, have an interest in the things the other person is saying. You can’t help but feel like you have a lot to learn from Joel, someone who has life experience, different interests (“old man interests” you tease him), and a whole new perspective on the world. You could listen to him for hours, sitting with your chin in your hand and lashes fluttering as you gaze at his perfect lips speaking about all of these new things. 

“Can I tell you something?” you finally say during a quiet moment, when your plates have long been pushed away, swirling your third glass of wine in your hand. One foot is planted on the dining chair, knee tucked up to your chin where you rest it, lip worrying in between your teeth. 

“Mhm, ‘course,” Joel says casually, sipping from his own glass. 

“When I said I couldn’t find my passion before… I’ve always known what it is, what I want out of life. I just can’t… say it because it sounds, well, silly.”

“Try me,” Joel replies coolly, his eyes flickering with curiosity. 

“I’ve always wanted to be -“ you hesitate, swallowing hard. “The reason someone comes home. The person they come home to. That’s it. That’s all I want. My parents… they never had that. Sure, they came home, but only because there wasn’t anything else to do, nowhere else to go. I never felt it from them. I’ve always wanted to just take care of someone and be that for them…” you confess, trailing off as your cheeks heat with the tipsy confession, slightly embarrassed to reveal it to Joel. 

He considers your words with a small hmm and a cock of his head. “You’re talkin’ about a marriage, yeah? You wanna be a married woman.”

You nod, breathing out a sigh. “Women I know, and my parents, oh god, would probably freak out if that’s what I told them. That I just want to be someone’s wife, make each other happy. Be there for them. It’s something I’ve been too scared to admit until now, because my parents just want me to go to school, get a job, and be successful in the ways they’re successful, but…” you pause to glance at Joel, then back down to the table, tracing your nail along the knots in the wood. “What if I want to be successful in the ways they aren’t?”

Joel’s face contorts slightly, feeling your pain. “You gotta do what you need, sweetheart. Fuck what anyone else says,” he says plainly. “I can relate, y’know. I was married before.”

You snap your gaze up to him, somehow surprised, but realizing maybe you shouldn’t be, that this man is well into his forties now and has lived an entire life before ever laying eyes on you. “Yeah? And…”

“Was all pressure. Wasn’t right. Divorced over ten years ago, so don’t feel too sorry f’me. Her parents had all this pressure on us gettin’ married but I knew she wasn’t the right one for me. Ended up divorcin’ five years later.” He tuts at the memory - the waste of time, the endless arguments, the strain of it all for nothing.

“I’m sor-“ you start, cut off by Joel grabbing your hand across the small table, dwarfing it in his palm.

“Said don’t be sorry for me, yeah? I’m sittin’ here with you now, aren’t I?”

A smile tickles at the corners of your lips and you look down bashfully, letting your fingers curl around his. “Yeah, guess that’s true.”

“Come on over here,” Joel says, patting his lap and setting his wine glass on the table with a small clink. 

You slide out of your chair, padding over and getting into his lap effortlessly. His fingers spread along your back to support you and you curl your legs up, resting against his chest. 

“Y’know marriage is a lot, right? I know you know, you’re a smart girl, can tell you’ve thought about this.”

“I know,” you snip. “It’s not something I’ve ever taken lightly. I just… that’s what I want.” You don’t know how to express to him the yearning deep inside of you, the way you’d watch your parents moving in parallel lives, just happening to share children and a home, and wishing for anything more than that. Praying you’d never meet that same fate, that you’d be so sickly, passionately in love with your future spouse that the entire world could know from a single glance. That you’d give your life to make sure they were well taken care of, and they’d do the same for you.

“Sweet girl,” Joel says quietly, nuzzling his nose against the top of your head. “I know you’ll get what you’re lookin’ for. Anyone’d be lucky to have you.”

Your skin heats at his close contact and adoring words, your stomach twisting a little with the anticipation that it could be him - could Joel be the one lucky to have you, as he said?

“W-would you?” you stutter out, licking your suddenly desert dry lips. “Have me?”

“Honey, I’d have you a hundred different ways and never tire of it. Such a sweet, smart, special little thing you are.”

Your lips purse into a smile, fighting the urge to giddily giggle right in his lap. You tilt your head up to kiss him, a motion he gladly returns as he deepens it for a few moments, tasting remnants of the wine on each other's tongues. 

“That what you want? Want me to have ya?” he asks quietly, the question carrying more weight in your mind than maybe he’d meant. 

“Yes,” you say, a whisper into the quiet air of his house.

“Stay w’me then, this weekend. Don’t wanna let you out of my sight.”

You nod, nearly imperceptible as your mouths meet again, passion driving the kisses now as you squirm in his lap, desire igniting every cell of your body. Joel chuckles against your already puffy lips and shakes his head. 

“Gonna ruin me, you know that?”

Three months later, Joel proposes to you in a park you frequently walk in together, a perfectly sunny and breezy spring day with the smell of fresh blooms surrounding you. You have on a pink dress, matching the explosion of color around you in the budding and blossoming trees and bushes. Joel wraps a hand around yours before getting down on one knee and revealing a solitaire diamond in a black velvet box, promising you all of the things you’d revealed to him in private months before. Someone to come home to. Someone who will come home to you. Succeed together in all the ways you’ve always wanted. Cherish you. And most importantly, love you for who you are.

[thewoollyviking]

Wanted to take a point I made in a reblog chain and make it its own post because I feel it put to words something that’s been bothering me about SU and the Diamonds in particular.

The Diamonds did not actually mourn Rose for those thousands of years after the war. And trying to get us to sympathize with their grief while turning around to denounce Rose felt so incredibly tone deaf.

Let me explain a bit why I feel this way…

So, according to the art books, all four Diamonds are rough around 20,000 years old. To give you an idea how old that is compared to irl history…

There are figures early humans carved from mammoth ivory and spear tips carved from flint that were made when the bottom of the North Sea was still a mammoth steppe in Doggerland.

Subtract the time Rose spent on Earth after the war (give or take a few centuries) and assuming the craptastic treatment she endured under the Diamonds has pretty much been the norm for all that time, and she had been abused for roughly 10-12,000 years.

Rose’s abuse predates agriculture and written language.

I. Do not. Give. A single. Chicken. Fried. Fuck. How sad or sorry the Diamonds think they were after losing Rose.

Oooooh booo fucking hooo Blue sulked in the middle of a human zoo Rose never even wanted in the first place.

Yellow knew Rose wanted to spare Earth and apparently thought the best way to honor her memory was to blow it the fuck up.

And White’s first action seeing “Pink” return was to send a mind controlled version of her original Pearl to greet her as a power move. To remind her what happens when she doesn’t control her power.

They didn’t mourn Rose. They mourned the person they wanted her to be.

I struggle to think of any other example of behavior both in the show or just in fiction altogether that’s this self destructive, self righteous, and self entitled.

This wasn’t morning, this was a 5,750 year long temper tantrum from the three of them.

And that’s made all the more clear once they realized Steven isn’t Rose.

Barely a few years after the end of season five and they seem completely unphased by the revelation that Rose really, truly is gone. And that her passing was not the act of some rogue gem, but their own abusive behavior chasing her away and being haunted by personal demons they inflicted on her.

Nope, their only goal now is getting Steven to take her place and live with them.

“Aww Pink’s gone? Gee that sucks. Welp, time to find a new pink!”

Suddenly now that they don’t have some villain to blame for their misfortune, they’re all too happy to sweep it under the rug.

Fuck dude, some people mourn Healthcare CEOs more than the Diamonds actually mourned Rose.

And yet the Diamonds get that nice fairy tale happy ending where they can be quirky space grandmas who think what they’re doing will ever hope to make up for the suffering they caused.

Meanwhile, Rose’s own loved ones feel like they have to apologize for daring to mention her in a positive light and worry they’re making excuses for her.

The Diamonds have been the instigators who made everything worse without fail. They’re the reason Rose came out as such a broken fucking person and yet we’re asked to pass more judgement on her for not being enough of a perfect fucking princess to solve things Steven’s way?

Rose spent her entire goddamn life clawing her way out of that pit of misery but we’re supposed to scoff at her for getting mud on her dress along the way?

What the fuck was the point in showing that Rose spent that lifetime trying to be better to just end it with “maybe her family would be better off if they just stopped thinking about her altogether.”

I still love this show. But I cannot and will not ever be able to rewatch Future.

The Diamonds are a gaggle of entitled, selfish, miserable, wretched hags. All of the grief they endured was entirely their own damn fault and they only have themselves to blame. They do not deserve a single fucking shred of sympathy. Especially not if the show wanted to end with leaving their most notable victim on such a bitter, hateful note.

[waynes-multiverse]

Rehab – Chapter 6

Series Summary: Thanks to Soldier Boy, the CIA was able to develop Project Bloom under the fierce leadership of Grace Mallory: a final cure to Compound V and a hopeful end to the supe epidemic three years after the explosive incident at Vought. A secret rehab facility in Upstate New York is supposed to help former heroes find their way back to humanity. The catch, though? Soldier Boy has never fucking agreed to any of this shit and is surely not happy about being powerless for the first time in his goddamn long life.

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Female!Reader

Warnings: +18, language, nudity/smut, a dash of fluff, a huge cup of angst & hurt

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: This one reeks of drama, guys! I feel like I just came back to get yelled at... Welp, let the screaming begin! 😂

Feedback is my fuel 🖤

<< Chapter 5 || Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

Chapter 6: bad things

“No, no, no! Don’t shoot him! He did nothing wrong!”

The desperate exclamation rings in Ben’s ears, loops through his mind in circles. His muscles freeze, don’t dare to move or even twitch. His breathing stills; his heart pounds like it never has before. A violent thunderstorm in his chest. It’s so loud he almost forgets he’s not bulletproof anymore as he stares down the barrels of three guns. Then he remembers neither is Y/N.

She’s not his goddamn shield. She could get hurt, and the thought causes the blood in his veins to jitter. He can’t lose her.

His feet begin to move and shuffle in front of her, pushing her gently behind his shoulder. Y/N slots behind him and firmly takes his hand. He can feel her eyes on him, but with one brave swallow, Ben just faces the threat and concentrates on the problem in front of him, ignoring his wildly beating heart.

“Y/N, what the fuck happened here?” Derek prompts, brow creased in stern confusion before his eyes land on the lifeless human body by their feet. “Is he–” The nurse doesn’t finish the question, just stares some more at the corpse on the ground, trying to piece the puzzle together as he waves the gun in front of Ben’s face, which causes some general uneasiness in his gut. Fear of dying is an entirely new concept to the former supe, to say the least.

“Uh-huh, yeah, pretty sure,” Y/N confirms and swallows harshly, unnoticeably squeezing Ben’s hand. “I-I killed him.”

“You? Really?” Derek cocks an eyebrow in clear disbelief while Ben’s heart jumps wildly in his chest. He can hardly believe it either that she’d take the fall for him. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? “Is that what I’m gonna find on the security camera footage?” the nurse questions further.

“Shit,” Y/N curses, and it almost sounds like a damn sneeze by the sheer force of it. “Forgot about that…”

Ben’s green eyes wander up to the ceiling, finding several cameras resting peacefully above, tucked away in dark corners like spiderwebs. How has he never noticed them before? Have they really been there all this time?

“Okay, fine,” Y/N admits with a frustrated sigh as her defense crumbles like an unstable house of cards around her. “But what you are gonna see on that footage is Colt assaulting me, alright? He tried to rape me. Ben just came in time. He fucking saved me.”

He fucking saved me.

Ben stares at her as if he can’t quite believe it himself before witnessing the first dark purple bruise form on her upper arm. That bastard. Then anger boils in his chest once more, swapping over the edge of the pot into his throat. He’d kill the guy who dared to hurt her all over again. No regrets.

“Did you really have to kill him? Couldn’t just knock him out and let us fucking handle the rest, huh?” Derek barks with a brow of annoyance this time.

“Got carried away,” Ben mutters in defense and clears his throat, locking his jaw tight.

“Carried away, hm? Typical,” the nurse spits, unamused and impatient. “Powers or not, you fucking supes think you can do whatever the fuck you want. Never care about collateral damage or anyone else. It’s always about you. News flash, buddy – in the real world, we just don’t go around and fucking kill people!”

Ben shares a quick look with Y/N and licks his lips, swallowing thickly. What is the best course of action here? The nurse seems pissed, and he guesses threats won’t help, least of all empty ones. Thinking back to therapy, one idea suddenly pops into his mind.

“Look, I’m-, uh, I’m sorry,” Ben admits, albeit it’s a lie to keep him alive. Again, no regrets. But Dr. Morgan’s ‘an apology goes a long way’ rattles through his head, even though he’s aware people never truly forgive. And as he learned a long time ago, every good lie always contains an ounce of truth. That’s what ultimately sells it as believable. “I lost control for a second. I-, uh… I didn’t like seeing her get hurt by that fucking dick, alright?”

Derek’s eyes fix on Y/N, keeping contact for what feels like a goddamn eternity. Are the two of them holding a silent conversation? But Ben knows they’re friends, and judging by the nurse’s look of concern, he doesn’t approve of Y/N getting hurt either. As much as the staff seems to hate him, everyone loves Y/N here, which ultimately might be his saving grace. It’s all about checks and balances in life.

And then, with a somewhat irritated eye roll, the nurse lowers his gun and gestures for his colleagues to do the same. Sighs of relief leave both Y/N and Ben as the tension disappears with the immediate death threat, their shoulders falling.

“You guys can go,” Derek tells his companions. “I’ll handle it.”

The two other nurses nod in unison and vanish down the corridor again, probably to resume their earlier posts. Ben’s still not sure if they aren’t actually CIA and the medical training is just a sham like everything else in this rehab center. He’s slowly starting to catch on.

“You know I have to report this back to Mallory,” Derek announces then, drawing the attention back to him.

“Please, you can’t do that. You know what will happen then. They hate him,” Y/N reasons, and Ben tries not to be offended by her honesty. Truthfully, he’s pretty sure as well that he ain’t the government’s favorite person on this planet.

“Just out of curiosity… what exactly will happen then?” Ben dares to ask, although he can take a good guess. Still, he’d like to have all his facts straight before pondering his next move.

“Chair,” Derek shoots straight without missing a beat, not an ounce of sympathy gleaming in his eyes.

“Or lethal injection if they feel gracious,” Y/N murmurs bitterly.

Yup, Ben guessed correctly.

“But he didn’t do anything wrong. He doesn’t deserve to get punished for it,” Y/N insists. It warms his cryo-frozen heart that she’s fighting for him. Has anyone ever done that before? He can’t remember, but it certainly feels good. “If Mallory finds out, she’s gonna use it as an excuse to get rid of him. God knows she’s been waiting for that chance probably since he got here.”

“And what the fuck do you want me to do about it?” Derek twitches his shoulders high.

“Lie,” Y/N suggests bluntly. “Just tell her I killed the guy after he attacked me and delete the footage. She won’t care if it was me. Hell, she never cared enough before when someone died. She won’t care now either.”

“She might if she finds out he was involved,” Derek counters and motions to the ancient superhero.

“Well, as far as you’re concerned, he was never here, alright?” Y/N asserts and stubbornly folds her arms over her chest to make her stance clear. She won’t budge. She’s a headstrong one, after all.

Derek seems to know that fact as well and heaves an exhaustive sigh. Another eye roll follows. “Fine,” he grits. “I’ll deal with the body. Clean him up,” the nurse orders grimly and then stomps down the hallway.

Returning with a first-aid kit, Y/N closes the door of her room behind her, finding the fallen supe and former hero sitting idly on the edge of her bed.

He’s twisting and playing with his thumb in his lap before one finger reaches for the split bottom lip and collects a drop of blood on it. He hisses and then frowns at the scarlet red stain on his pad, the tip of his tongue darting out to lick at the wound and surely being able to taste the iron. Fascinated with what his green eyes find, his fingers continue to play with the injury, although it seems to burn, judging by the various flinches of his facial muscles.

“Feels weird, huh?” Y/N joins him with an amused smile, settling down next to him on the mattress. His eyes land on her as he rests his hands back into his lap and watches as she dabs some disinfectant on a cotton ball.

“A little,” Ben admits sheepishly and winces when the rubbing alcohol connects with his open wound. He tries to swat her hand away, but Y/N remains stubborn and unbothered by his action.

“Hold still and stop being a baby,” she orders him, giggling. “Accepting medical help doesn’t turn you into a girl.”

“I’m not a–… Fine.” Ben sighs his defeat and allows her to patch him up. Admittedly, it feels kind of nice to be cared for, especially by the girl he likes – a soldier and his nurse. He determines he can live with that mental image.

Once his lip stops the bleed, she proceeds to wrap an ice pack in a clean dish towel and holds it up to the left side of his face.

He huffs. “I don’t need that fucking shit.”

“Your black eye heavily disagrees with you there, stud.” Y/N giggles, a teasing smile playing on her lips as if she finds the whole torture damn amusing.

Ben pops an eyebrow in bewilderment. “I’ve got a black eye?”

“Yep, big one, too,” she confirms and gently brushes a few strands of sandy blond locks out of his face. She then grabs a small handheld mirror from her bedside table and holds it up for him.

Gobsmacked, he studies his face, pinches and squeezes the skin between his fingers, and causes deep wrinkles in his brow like someone who’s stuck in the wrong body. Freaky Friday.

“Fuck me.” He gasps in fascination and snorts. “I’ll be damned...”

Y/N grins, amused. “You look like you’ve been in a real fight, champ. First one?”

“In this century, yeah.” Ben chuckles softly, nodding. “First one was in my sophomore year, 1934.”

“Wow.” Y/N whistles lowly and laughs. “Sometimes I forget how old you truly are. Lemme guess, you got into a fight over a girl?”

Ben smirks widely. “Now, how did you know?”

“Seems to be a common theme for you,” Y/N muses and chews on her lower lip, her cheeks heating up even in the darkness of the room. Lowering the ice pack from his face, her fingertips gently trace the swelling. His skin feels sufficiently cold to the touch. “That should help for now,” she determines and sends him a smile. “Thanks for saving me. You might not have been a true hero back in the day, but you certainly were mine tonight.”

Ben swallows hard at that and wets his lips, head bobbing in pensive rhythm as he averts his gaze to the fluffy rug under his bare feet. “Well… Wouldn’t have been necessary. It was my goddamn fault, after all. If I hadn’t–… Well, I-I guess what I’m trying to say is… I shoulda known better. I’m sorry, Y/N. Honestly. I’m truly sorry.”

Y/N nods quietly next to him, accepting his admission of guilt and the included apology. Truthfully, she thought the day would never come that the Soldier Boy who slumbers deep inside of him would ever admit to any wrongdoing, but she knows better than letting her surprise show. “Why did you provoke him?”

Ben presses his lips tightly together and shakes his head, his Adam’s apple bobbing harshly with the words he’s swallowing down as he refuses to answer. Y/N’s hand reaches out and settles on his shoulder blade, tenderly caressing his back. Ben grabs it and kisses her knuckles apologetically. “I suppose monsters can’t escape the skin they’re in. I’m a fucking asshole. There’s not much more to it.”

“Yeah, true. You can be a real asshole,” Y/N agrees with a laugh, playfully teasing him. He meets her gaze with a raised look, hoping there’s more to her statement, though. “But you’re also a lot of other things, too,” she adds finally.

Ben swallows, keeping his green eyes fixed on her with a gleam of curiosity. “Like what? Mind naming a few ‘cause I don’t really know who I am. Not anymore.”

Y/N bobs her head and rests her chin on top of his broad shoulder, offering him a smile while her fingers brush through his soft hair. “I do. I know who you are.”

“Yeah?” Ben finds her eyes and cocks an eyebrow. “Could you by any chance enlighten me as well? Help a fella out here, huh.”

“Well, for starters… You’re an incredibly bad singer. Like, really, really, really awful. Disastrously lousy,” Y/N teases him, to which Ben rolls his eyes and pouts his lips, which hide a smile behind it. “Most of all, I honestly wish you’d stop singing that damn Cass Elliot song.”

“It’s an awesome song! Your generation just doesn’t know how to appreciate great music anymore,” Ben grumbles defensively. “This is truly the reason why the world’s going to shit…”

“Oh, we do, old man. I’m all for the classics – just as long as you’re not singing them.” Y/N laughs and presses a soothing kiss to his cheek to balance her criticism. “But you’re funny. I’ll give you that.”

His face lights up at her words like a kid’s on Christmas morning, the pout disappearing. “Yeah? You know Bob Newhart once wanted me to perform with him,” he boasts.

“Oh, I bet he did,” Y/N replies with a smile and doesn’t let him catch on to her little act. “You’d probably would’ve stolen the show. You’re hilarious.“

His cheeks blush at her words, and he subtly tries to get rid of the sudden fluster by clearing his throat. “So, uh, what else?”

“You’re a great lover.” Y/N smirks, and he matches it. “Fantastic, truly. You rock my world like no one else does.”

“Yeah? I mean… damn right, I do.” Ben grins widely, his large palm running up her thigh and squeezing the flesh as he cheekily wiggles his eyebrows. “And I guess you’re easy to please, sweetheart,” he adds and shrugs her compliment off with feigned coolness, but his impossibly reddening cheeks give away his true feelings on the subject.

Y/N then swallows, looking into his juniper eyes. “You’re also a very caring man,” she admits and catches the surprise in his orbs. “If you want to be… sometimes… under certain circumstances…”

Ben snorts, chuckling. “Okay, got it.”

“You really are my hero,” Y/N repeats her earlier sentiment then, and before she can overthink and change her mind again, she leans closer and presses her lips against his, catching him off guard. Her heart jolts out of her chest.

A moment ticks away on the clock.

Ben counts each second until he reaches eleven, surprised his brain even works that well with all the fireworks exploding in his ribcage. He cherishes every second, too scared to fully kiss her back in case it scares her away.

Still, she draws back all on her own and retreats, a breathless smile dancing across her moonlit features. The tip of her nose nudges his as she rests her forehead on his, encouraging him to go on.

“You sure?” Ben checks. She nods with eagerness, and like lightning, his palms cup her cheeks like a treasured pearl, fingertips tracing the outline of her mouth. His lips crash against hers like a stormy wave hitting a rocky cliff – violent, ambitious, and wild.

His lungs wring for oxygen as he swallows and sucks her plush bottom lip between his. She opens her mouth wider for him, allows his tongue to slip inside and taste her. He savors every drop like a parched man finding water in the desert.

His hands roam. One lands on the back of her neck, the other on her waist. He pulls till she falls into his lap and straddles his legs as he explores her warm cavity with his wet lips and his thick tongue, ignoring the stings his wound causes. She’s salt, but the urge to keep kissing her, devouring her, is stronger than any pain that surges through his body.

Then, he stops and swallows the biggest lump of a lifetime, swallows like he’s never swallowed anything before. He takes a deep breath and says, close to a whisper, “I love you, Y/N. I really do.”

Y/N makes him feel happy, makes him feel like a kid again, like flying could be possible. Like everything could be possible. Maybe he could prove himself to the CIA and Mallory. He’s done great on his outings so far. No body count or outbursts. Maybe the two of them could get out of the clinic together. Maybe they could have a future together, after all. Things can change. He could change.

Ben smiles from ear to ear, his heart full of love. A love that’s visible in every crease on his face and tangible in every bone of his body.

“Ben…”

His happy smile fades like a ghost and joins the dead as he witnesses the rainbow of sheer horror and regret spreading on Y/N’s face. He pushed the wrong button, and now it’s all going nuclear.

“I think you should go,” she says quietly and averts her gaze.

“Go?” Ben’s brow furrows as he scoffs, nostrils flaring with a mix of anger and disbelief. “You’re not gonna say it back, even though–“

“Even though what, Ben?!” she snaps. “Even though I told you a thousand times what this was? Even though you knew we’d never be more?”

“But–“

“No! No buts!” Y/N’s voice is louder now as it fills with anger. She jumps up from the bed and starts pacing the room. Her throat closes. Her heart pounds a million beats. It suddenly feels like some supe sucked all the air out of the room, and now there’s no oxygen left to breathe. Desperately, she runs a hand through her hair and looks at Ben. “You don’t even know what love is. Let’s face it – the only person you ever loved was you and only you.”

Ben clicks his tongue and rubs a palm through his beard. Then, he rises from the bed and walks to the door. He knows when he’s not wanted. He knows when it’s time to leave. And yet, he still tries. If anything, he’s always been a fighter, even when the world didn’t appreciate it.

Resting his hand on the doorknob, Ben takes one last deep breath and glances back at Y/N. “You sure you can’t love me? Not even a little?”

He knows the answer, knows what the truth really is. He’s unlovable. Maybe he’s also a masochist and takes pleasure in torturing himself. Or maybe he’s simply a hopeless romantic – old-school.

Y/N sighs and shakes her head, her voice bitter. “No. I don’t love you. No one can.”

Ben’s fought battles, other superheroes, parents, ex-lovers, and friends. It’s not the first time he’s hearing this, either. Yet, it still hurts the most.

“Okay.” Ben nods in defeat and harshly swallows down the hurt in his entire body. “I guess thank you for your honesty then.” He forces a weak smile to his lips. “You’re wrong, though, by the way… I do know what love is.”

As the door closes behind the broken former supe, Y/N realizes what she’s done. She wants to run after him, tell him she’s a better liar than him, and nothing of what she’s said was the truth. That she’s never been happier than when she’s with him. That she wants everything that he wants. That she does love him for fuck’s sake.

But why should she give him false hope and placate him? He’s had enough of that his whole life. It’s better to rip the band-aid off right now. There’s no future for them. That’s the real lie. The CIA will never let him go. Y/N knows that, and Ben should know it, too. He deserves to know.

So, she stays mum and lets him go.

The rational part wins in the end and keeps her feet frozen to the ground, even though it shatters her heart.

Fourteen hours, thirty-three minutes, and fifty-one seconds.

That’s how much time has passed since Ben left her room last night. That’s also how long Y/N has thought about their conversation, replayed it bit by bit in an endless loop.

It’s also the same amount of time that regret could fester in her heart.

Maybe the world isn’t black and white, after all. Maybe it’s okay to live in the gray. Maybe it’s even healthy to hope. Maybe it’s essential for a human’s survival.

Y/N’s knuckles knock on the door of Room 11 like she’s done so many times before. It almost feels like a full circle moment.

Five months ago, she could’ve never imagined becoming friends with the narcissistic asshole that resides in that room, much less falling head over heels in love with him.

Yet, here she is.

Her ears then pick up a set of strange noises, moans and groans that echo out into the hallway. Her stomach churns, her gut already knowing what’s happening inside before her brain and heart can catch on.

Determinedly, she opens the door and storms in. As expectedly, she finds the former green-eyed superhero standing at the end of his bed with blonde Daisy on all fours on the mattress. Needless to say, neither of the two is dressed.

Y/N’s mouth fills with spit – or bile – she can’t really tell. She wants to simultaneously scratch out her eyes and brand the memory into her brain as a reminder to never trust someone again. To never be this stupid again.

Far from stopping any action, Ben continues on with his movements as he recognizes her. He even looks her dead in the eye. If he’s taken aback by her presence or feeling caught, he doesn’t let it show. Instead, a wide, cunning and petty smirk spreads across his cheeks.

“Hey, sweetheart, c’mon, get in here,” he says and slaps Daisy’s rear with a wiggle of his eyebrows. “Join us,” he extends his invitation, his voice laced with something wicked and vile.

Y/N doesn’t respond. She might have even blacked out for a second because a minute later, the door is closed again, and she’s back in the hallway with no memory of how she got here.

Inhaling and exhaling a few million deep breaths, Y/N lets the calm wash over her and feels clearer than ever before. Clarity and closure. She’s finally got it.

She rips off the green bracelet around her wrist and pretends she doesn’t feel like the biggest idiot that ever walked this planet. Truly, she should thank him. It’s the push she needed.

“It’s time,” she decides.

As the door slams shut behind Y/N, Ben pulls out and mindlessly shoves the blonde back onto the bed. Everything went according to plan, but why doesn’t it feel good?

Revenge always made him feel better in the past. It always scratched the itch and patched the hole in his heart.

Y/N was supposed to get jealous, maybe even start a hot and wild catfight with Daisy over him. She was supposed to realize what she lost – what he was goddamn worth.

Instead, she looked sad, though, and he feels like utter shit.

The blonde is complaining and yapping about something as he gets dressed, but Ben doesn’t register a single word of what she says, his mind too focused on Y/N that everything else just sounds like white noise. Daisy then leaves angrily, but he doesn’t care, either.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

Eighteen hours, nine minutes, and forty-two seconds.

That’s how much time has passed since Y/N left his room and caught him red-handed. That’s how long he thought about what he’s done like the worst prison sentence in history. It’s the amount of time he’s decided to let things cool off. If there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that neither of them are good when things get heated.

Ben knocks on her door, but instead of an answer, the door just gently falls open. As the century-old supe steps inside, he doesn’t recognize the room anymore.

Gone are the lively furniture and homey vibes. White walls, white floors, bleak windows, and an empty bed greet him.

Well, almost empty.

On the bed lies something Ben recognizes in an instant. It’s the green friendship bracelet he once gifted her, a piece of paper rolled inside of it like a scroll.

Bye, dude.

Ben crumbles the paper in his fist and throws it on the marbled linoleum, not wasting a second as he races to the nurses’ station and finds Derek.

“Where is she?” Ben snarls and plants his palms forcefully on the counter. God, does he wish he’d have his powers right now. He’d make the Earth shake in its core.

Derek, however, doesn’t even glance up from his trashy tabloid as he turns another page disinterestedly. “Where’s who?” “Y/N! Where is she? Her room is empty!”

That seems to catch Derek’s attention. He puts the magazine down and meets the former supe’s gaze. “Oh, uh, she left.”

“I know that. I can see that,” Ben grits patiently through his teeth. It’s hard being nice and polite when you truly want something. “When’s she coming back?”

The nurse wrinkles his brow. “Never,” he replies. “Didn’t she tell you? She finally left. For good. I say good for her. Was about time.”

Ben swallows. She left? Without him? Without saying goodbye? Without even telling him?

A part of him is happy for her. He wanted her to get out of the clinic and live her life to the fullest. If anyone deserved to, it was Y/N.

Another part, though, is shocked she left so easily without flinching. Without looking back and seeing him in the rearview mirror.

“Where’s she now? I need to see her. I need to tell her something,” Ben demands urgently. “Can you take me to her?”

“Nope, sorry. No more outings for you, Casanova,” Derek tells him. “Orders from the boss. With Y/N gone, you’re not allowed out anymore.”

“What?!” Ben stumps.

“Yeah, I know you didn’t realize this, but Y/N was protecting you. Without her, there’s no more privileges for you. Understood?” the nurse informs him indifferently.

Ben grinds his teeth, his furious green eyes locking on the door to the outside and then drift to the keycard hanging from the nurse’s white chest pocket.

Fast like a lightning bolt, Ben rips the card and makes a run for the exit. Screams for security, alarm bells, and red blinking lights start to fill the halls. But he’s almost made it. He’s so close to freedom, he can taste it on his goddamn tongue.

If he were naked and still had superpowers, it would feel like deja-vu.

Except the last time he broke free, no sea of arms slung around him and held him back. He screams and fights and shouts and hits. He can feel the cool prick of a needle in his jugular, feels the poison flood his veins.

And then, it all goes black.

Chapter 7: make up sex

I know, I know they're both idiots. What d'you want me to do about it, huh? "Fix it! Fix it!" Yes, I hear ya... 😘

Since it's been a few months, I'm renewing the tags. I still linked the old one for this part as not everyone surely caught that I'm back. Join the new tag list here!

TAGS:

Everything Jensen Tag: @akshi8278 @xlynnbbyx @lyarr24

Series Tag: @nancymcl

Old Series Tag: @deans-spinster-witch​ @iamsapphine​ @jessjad​ @suckitands33​ @ladysparkles78​ @spalady26​​ @zepskies​ @syrma-sensei​ @muchamusedaboutnothing​ @deansbbyx​ @stoneyggirl2​ @zannemes @foxyjwls007​ @leigh70​ @fromcaintodean​ @roseblue373​ @globetrotter28​

[hmshermitcraft]

Joel seems to know a lot about the ocean, I mean have you seen the stuff in his empire? Like most aren't that ocean related, but if you look closely you see they relate to the ocean. Also there is the statue and picture of what he claims is the Ocean Goddess. He also speaks to the ocean and axolotls will bring him treasure.

Imp and Skizz has seen this happen Moreland more. They see him do it when Grian ot Gem isn't around. They see him do it with other hermits. They see him when he's alone. They guess that it's a thing he does to calm his nerves, but then they remained themselves that this is Joel. Joel doesn't really calm his nerves around people, so why does he do it around the hermits?

One day Joel asks them both to help him with stuff and to meet him at the ocean. They go, curious about what he would need and why the ocean as a meeting place. They would question it to him once they get there.

They hear a faint whisper once they arrive.

"Ah! Yes I'm bring Impulse and Skizz to see you today! You fine with that wife?"

Wife. Joel is talking to the ocean and calling it his wife? HE'S MARRIED TO LIZZIE!!! Then they think back to what he said earlier. He's bringing them both to see her, his ocean wife. They don't know how to feel, flattered, scared, confused?

Confused, they decide on confused. They stay still once they hear a response, one that sounds like someone who isn't on the server but one they have learned to know and love.

"Oh! They're here listening Joel! Of course I'm happy you brought them, but maybe next time tell them why they're here. They seem confused."

Welp, the ocean, or better know as Lizzie has seen them, somehow. Joel turns over, a bit flushed. He composes himself and waves them over.

"Welllll, uhh... nice to see you?" Joel asks, trying to remain like his normal self, failing tho.

"The ocean is Lizzie isn't it" Skizz says bluntly.

"Yeaaaaa"

"You married the ocean Joel." Impulse adds on.

"Okay, she wasn't the ocean at first. She's the Blue Axolotl turned ocean."

"Wat"

"It's a long story" Lizzie says.

"We can be told it a different time if you so wish Lizzie. Now Joel, why did you call us here?" Impulse asked, questioningly.

"Ah! Right," Joel clears his throat, "Well I- Lizzie has noticed you guys seeing me talk to the ocean and, uhh-" Joel gets cut off by Lizzie speaking.

"We want to know if you heard some of they things we have spoken about..." Lizzie responds.

"Like what 'things'?" Skizz questions. He have heard a bit but not a lot, Impulse tho, slightly flushes at that statement Lizzie said.

"Well, about you guys..." Lizzie says, the water around her flushes a bit brighter while Joel's face was bright red.

"You talked about us!" Skizz said oblivious to everything.

"Uhhmmmm, Yes!" Lizzie responds quick witted, "We wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay, may I ask what i-" Skizz was cut off by Impulse saying a strained yes.

Lizzie and Joel look at Impulse, a bit taken a back by his response but smiled at him.

"Dippledop!!! What's going on here? What do you and them know!!!?!??!" Skizz was confused at this, all Impuse did was stay silent and let Lizzie continue.

"Well, I got Impulse's answer but Skizz seems to be in the dark. Well Skizz what Impulse responded to was me and Joel talking about how we wanted to date the 2 of you."

Skizz stared for a moment or 2, then his face flushed.

"OH!!! Oh my... uhhhhhhh, that makes sense with how Joel was acting with me and Impy and how...." Skizz trails off.

"Wh-What do you say?" Joel's strained voice says.

"I-uh.... who am I kidding of course!!!"

Impulse, Lizzie, and Joel breathed a sigh of relief at that. Finally, Finally it has been done and said.

Later on, Impulse and Skizz would say sweet things to the Ocean, telling their goddess how sweet and pretty she was. No other Hermit seemed to notice what they where doing.

The Ocean would reward them woth more luck and care. The ocean seemed to favor those 3. For the fact the Ocean was their wife and girlfriend.

-‐-------------------

-May

Silly Skizziebeanspulse with Ocean Goddess Lizzie. Also Impy was hardcore crushing on Skizz the whole time as well. They so silly

They collectively decided not to mention the fact to Grian. Lizzie may be the literal ocean, but she has one hell of a cackle still. She's sure his luck will improve in the future... Maybe.

She explained in most worlds (where she has permission to reside) she still takes a humanoid form, but she's able to sneak into worlds she's not supposed to be in by... Being the ocean. Being bipedal is kinda exhausting too - being the ocean is so much better. More room to breath.

[bichietozier-s]

🕷️Catch You On The Web!!🕸️

An Itafushi spiderman socmed au ❤️

In which Yuuji Itadori, newly a sophomore in college who still has not a clue what he wants to do with his life, gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains new abilities, stats and powers. He's coasting on his raw athletic ability, a full-ride scholarship handed to him despite his less-than-perfect grades, when he realizes he's got way more ahead of him than he'd ever imagined. Including, but not limited to, a newfound crush that also throws him for a loop.

you are reading:

Prologue | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

notes:

Megumi is back! Yippee!!! Lots of texting in this part, they should be pretty obvious whose pov they're from, but for the most part they'll be Yuta and Yuuji. There's a couple between Maki and Nobara :3c

Junpei held his phone in his hands, staring at the screen still sitting on the messages between himself and his two closest friends. 

Little date? Was Nobara just being her little teasing self? Most likely - no, she definitely was. But… Yuuji repeated it.

Was he reading too much into this?

His heart thrummed in his chest as he stared at the message from Yuuji. He was reading too much into that, right? He had to have been. 

Plus, why did that stand out so much to him anyway? It’s not like he had feelings for his best friend. He had never seen Yuuji as anything more than his closest friend before now, so why would it change so suddenly?

After re-reading the message for the 100th time, he simply closed out of the chat and turned his phone screen off. Maybe clearing his mind with some fresh air would help.

He was reading too much into that.

When he inevitably had to face Yuuji and Nobara in person a couple weeks from now, he’d know for sure where he stood on… that front. 

For now though, he simply shook it off, and told himself not to think too hard about that. Friends went on silly little “dates” all the time! This was no different.

Megumi sighed, dropping his phone down onto his bed. He rested his hands flat along the tops of his thighs, sliding them down to his knees and hoisting himself up off of his mattress. Welp, he might as well get this over with. 

He first grabbed his bottle of EXTRA STRENGTH melatonin gummies, following that with stuffing his phone into his pocket before sliding on his silly little wolf slippers that Toge and Yuta had gifted him last Christmas, and heading out the door of his dorm room.

As he stepped out into the hall, he considered for a moment that he was wearing the saddest outfit imaginable, but then quickly realized that … literally, who gives a fuck? He’s dropping off these stupid gummies to some kid he doesn’t even know. Why should he be concerned about his dark grey sweatpants and baggy black t-shirt? He was just rudely interrupted while reading, of course he was in boring loungewear.

“Alright, well…” he mumbled out loud to himself, before looking down the hall from his room. He happened to be the first door in the hall, so he didn’t need any clarification on which way to go from his room. But maybe, he should’ve just asked Yuta for the number of the room.

He sighed once more. “Yuta said… four rooms down from me?” He squinted his eyes as he counted down four doors, and stopped right in front of room 305. As he raised a fist to knock on the dark wood of the door, he paused as he heard yelling coming from inside. 

Megumi’s eyebrows knit together in slight confusion (and for some reason, not a hint of concern) as he pressed his ear closer to the door to try and listen to what the hell was actually going on in there.

“WAIT! Oh, my GOD!!! NOBARA. THIS GUY IS-” coupled with the sound of about a thousand gunshots, and then silence. “Yep, he got me,” pause. 

“Well, I was trying to tell you-” pause. 

“NO! NO,?? NO!!!!!! THAT’S NOT WHAT-” pause. Sounded like he was probably on a phone call or something. 

Wait, why the hell was he concerned about this at all? He was wasting time standing here eavesdropping on this one-sided conversation that, quite honestly, wasn’t giving him any information. He raised his fist once more as the yelling continued on the other side of the door, knocking three times on the wood.

“Oh, hang on, give me like two minutes,” pause. “No, it’s not even gonna take that long, just-” pause. “OHHHH MY GOD, LITERALLY WHATEVER I’LL JUST JOIN NEXT ROUND. I’LL BE BACK," Megumi heard, as he heard something like… maybe hard plastic? Clatter to the floor, followed by a quiet “fuck,” muttered under his breath.

Megumi huffed out a breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding in just before the door was pulled open, and he was faced with…

A fuzzy head of pink hair, sitting atop… Really buff arms and broad shoulders poking out of an orange tank top.

“Oh, hi,” Yuuji spoke out in a much softer tone than what Megumi was just hearing on the other side of the door. “Ah, are you Yuta’s friend?” He offered Megumi a warm smile as he waited for the ravenette’s reply.

Megumi was silent as his eyes snapped quickly back up to Yuuji’s at the sound of him speaking. “Oh, yeah. Here,” Megumi lifted the bottle to show to Yuuji, before speaking once more. Suddenly, he felt almost nervous. “Yuta said you’d needed some of these. Uh, Yuuji, right?” Megumi spoke flatly as he recalled his messages with Yuta only minutes before.

“Yep, that’s me!” Yuuji said excitedly, offering a double thumbs up to Megumi. 

Man, this kid had nothing going on behind those eyes, huh?

“Sorry, you caught me right at the end of a fortnite match. I hope you didn’t hear too much screaming. I was playing duos with my best friend, and-” he began rambling on and on about this game Megumi had never had even an ounce of interest in playing. 

He cut Yuuji off mid-sentence, to reply simply, “Yeah, I heard some of an argument. At least it sounded like that. Here,” he said as he began twisting the cap off the bottle. He shook out five gummies into his hand, and held it out clenched into a fist, awaiting Yuuji’s hand to reach out. “You should only need one of these, but depending on how difficult it is for you to fall asleep, two will definitely knock you out. No more than that, though.” For some reason, he felt like he’d need to give the dude written instructions. Maybe he should’ve gone with a lower dosage.

“Ah, okay! Sounds good to me!” Yuuji said as he reached his hand forward, allowing Megumi to drop the gummies into his palm. They were little dinosaur shapes. “Oh, uhh, what was your name?” He asked innocently, tilting his head a bit as he spoke.

“Megumi,” came the reply, as dry and monotone as ever. “Just ask Yuta if you need anything else. He can always grab me,” Megumi was speaking while keeping his eyes trained downward on the bottle as he twisted the cap back onto it (and definitely not Yuuji’s legs that stood bare below the thigh because of his shorts). 

“Oh, okay,” Yuuji replied. Somehow, an interaction that most people would probably hate Megumi over was not phasing Yuuji in the least. It seemed like he didn’t even realize that Megumi was indifferent to this entire thing, or that he was trying to end it as quickly as possible. “Well, thanks for the gummies. I really haven’t gotten any sleep at all recently, so I’m hoping I can maybe squeeze some in before the first game of the season-”, and there he went again, prattling on about something Megumi definitely had no interest in.

“Mhm,” he hummed out softly as his eyes moved back up to Yuuji’s face once more. His hand holding the bottle of gummies hung limply at his side as he shoved the other free hand into his pocket. “Good luck sleeping.” He turned on his heel and began to walk away, back to his own room. 

“Ah, well…” Yuuji stuttered for a moment, trying to figure out how to quickly end this very brief interaction with someone he’d never even seen before now. “You too!”

He stood, stiff as a board in his own room’s doorway for a moment, before quickly backing in and slamming the door shut, smacking his palm against his face in frustration. Why on God’s green earth did he just say you too???

author's note:

this part was kinda thrown together as I went as opposed to the others ive had ... pretty well planned out for the most part id like to think lol BUT i love the outcome and the little sideplot i came up w for Megumi and Yuuji's first face-to-face meet 🙂‍↕️ NEXT PART IS MY FAVORITE THAT IVE WRITTEN FOR SURE AAHH

and if you'd like to be added to the taglist please just ask 🤗

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[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep7 Musings - Loustat Ep5 Revisited (Spoilers)

I decided to do this one first, cuz I have the least to say about it.

It was pretty clear cut and showed exactly what I expected/hoped it would: CONFIRMATION ON EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN S1--

THE FIGHT WASN'T RETCONNED AT ALL. 😤👏

Diabolical frame, cuz it's pretty much like, Welp, you're here in Europe, after I distinctly told y'all the European vampires were vicious and not to come here! VOILA! 😬

And I love how his back is to the audience, cuz this bit REALLY isn't about the performance--this is Lestat venting, talking right to Louis, even though he's clearly having difficulty meeting his gaze.

Mild way to put it, but wtvr.

There's that word again: "compromise," which Lestat blamed Louis for leading to "spite--" both Claudia's, AND Lestat's own spite towards THEM. Cuz Lestat was constantly holding back; "fought my nature, controlled my temper."

TOO EFFING BAD, you woke the sleeping effing DRAGON!

Backflip into the coffinroom, omg, I accidentally cackled. 😅

Amen! Lestat put his hands on Claudia first, now you gotta PAY!

"It will end in your death"--excuse me, Lestat?! DEATH THREATS!?

That's right, bash his head into the effing coffin! Now we know what the dent was from! Look at that blood stream! Yeah, you BETTER hold back, Lestat; take this arse whoopin!

I like how S1 focused on the blows Lestat dealt to Louis, as it was from his & Claudia's perspective; but now we're seeing more of the blows Louis dealt to Lestat as he gives his perspective. But it still shows that although Louis' fighting, he's still on the defense, cuz Lestat is often just LETTING Louis hit him--LOUIS can't AFFORD to just LET Lestat hit him, cuz "mighty...most ancient blood...godlike strength" Les will REALLY injure him whenever he does! This is NOT an even fight, even if the perspectives are now more evenly shown.

Exactly! You wanna KILL Louis!? But Lou, don't get cocky now; Les is LETTING you do all this to him, cuz he knows if he gets serious that's your behind. 😬

Bites all over Lou's jaw & neck, gosh--look at YOUR face, Louis. U_U

(I can't WAIT to read the fanfics that come out of this; they're gonna make me cry.) No, unfortunately. I don't think Louis had any intention of going anywhere, even after all that (LOUIS GOT THE DEED, that's HIS house--YOU leave!). And congratulations; thanks to you, Les, Lou wasn't even able to WALK for three effing years afterwards.

Claudia calling for her Daddy Lou, I can't. 😭 This poor baby girl has regressed to her inner child--she's so dang scared.

JUST LIKE YOU DID OUR DAUGHTER--PAPA BEAR LOUIS STOOD UP! 😤👏

I've been in this exact situation IRL, and y'all want me to feel sorry FOR LESTAT!? AFTER HE CHOKED "built-like-a-bird" Claudia and beat the mess out of her Daddy Lou right in front of her!?

Chile, the sword-cane's right there; let's get to choppin! 😤🔪🔪🔪

Apropos for Lioncourt, but that's way too good for him--take him to the EFFING SWAMP and let the GATORS feed on him! I want SWAMP KING LESTAT. 😭🐊

I'm gonna LAAAAAAAUGH, oh he's cracked and I love it! You KNOW they talked to a woman who's been in this EXACT situation.

Oh, this is every woman who talks big to her abusive husband right b4 he lands her in the effing hospital (or the morgue); we all saw the Ray Rice footage when he knocked her TF out WITH EASE when she got up in his face talking smack in that elevator. 💀

Your FATHERS temper, but this is the coven writing his lines "teased until you toppled;" they don't know about the Marquis vs Gabrielle.

THE DROP REALLY HAPPENED, THANK YOU, AMC.

It wasn't cuz Lestat was tryna spare Louis or save him from himself or protect him or whatever--LES WANTED TO BREAK LOU.

It could've been 2 effing FEET. "A hard fall, nothing more;" eff you Santiago!

Yeah, gaslight us some more whydontcha; half the fandom LOVES using that reasoning to handwave aside "abuse" when it's done to the character they DON'T like. 🙄😒 Then it's just awful takes about how Louis & Claudia deserved what happened to them and it's "karma" and it's not Les' fault cuz they're monsters & Lou bloodied Les' face.

And biting w/out consent is RAPE, clown! AR said it over & over that it's a violation of the most intimate act b/t vamps who share emotions, memories & sexual pleasure thru the blood! But watch some braindead takes use Santiago's words as gospel just to Gotcha! anyone who says anything against Louis for Ep5. 🙄😒

CRICKETS. Cuz LESTAT TRIED TO KILL LOU, just like Claudia said! "A wolf congratulated for not killing her pups"--that was scripted. But "you can't script a hurricane!" NO! That's right; set the story straight!

Look at him crying, I love how they do the blood tears effect, as their eyes get redder & redder. The sound of Sam's voice as he's crying is just making me wanna yeet myself into the sun--but it's the middle of the night, alas. U_U "I couldn't force him to love me so I broke him. What is worse than that? Crushing what you cannot own." But I thought Louis was saying "Come to me" and luring you with his wicked vixen ways~! The math ain't mathin, Santiago! 🤭

FINALLY AN APOLOGY OMFG

Claudia said it best: "Let's meet vampires WORTHY of your love!" Unworthy in NOLA, unworthy in Paris--cuz he's STILL gonna throw CLAUDIA under the bus to save Louis, and she KNOWS this.

WAY too effing late--Les had his chance to apologize sincerely the night he dropped Louis 20000 leagues from the frikkin stratosphere! Claudia DGAF, LOL. And Louis looks away from Lestat; bye Felicia!

CONTINUE.

Chile, I need SLEEP! I been up all dang day rewatching this episode & screaming at the ether!

[dyaz-stories]

Welp, since you gave the go sign, when and how did you start shipping Kagome and Gojo? And what inspired you to make your story?

Loool I'm glad to answer that, it's a very funny story to me actually.

Because when I started shipping them, I wasn't even in the JJK fandom. Like I hadn't read the manga and I hadn't seen the anime. I had one friend who was involved in the fandom and who'd talk to me about it, and I think I'd started seeing edits on TikTok. So I knew about Gojo's Vibe™ and I had a pretty clear, if not really defined, idea for the kind of person he was.

And yeah I was just lying in bed scrolling when I started to think about how Kagome is kinda THE character for crossovers and suddenly I had to get up and start pacing because I had the Vision of Kagome/Gojo and I was like oh wow oh wow oh wow. So as you do I looked them up on Tumblr and Ao3 and was delighted to find some stuff, and decided This Is My Ship Now.

(this is one of my favorite posts for the ship it's absolutely excellent)

So it was love at first sight for me, basically. I think there was something about the idea that Kagome could get through all of Gojo's barriers, literally and figuratively, that really spoke to me. Also, the fact that they're so similar in their roles and yet so different? Chef's kiss. Match made in heaven.

As for what inspired me for the alchemy, it's kinda convoluted. It wasn't the fic I'd planned on writing, and I actually had ideas for two other fics, one of which I'd started working on. I can talk about it in more detail elsewhere if you're interested or want a quick rundown, but the problem I ran into was that they required heavy plotting, and I was in the middle of a time-consuming internship without having read JJK at that point, so I couldn't devote my time and energy to that.

I still wanted to write though, so a low-effort, low-plot fic would have been fine. I came up with the idea for the alchemy in a roundabout way though. Shibuya is the focal point of the manga for me, so it came up a lot when I was thinking about fics.

But when I came up with the starting point for the alchemy, I was thinking about writing a Nanami/Kagome one-shot. Basically they're together without knowing of each other's powers, until Shibuya happens and Kagome, worried for her boyfriend, ventures in. Obviously, she saves him (either from Mahito or by busting everyone out of Dagon's domain expansion).

The problem was that after that, she'd, again, obviously, go on to unseal Gojo. And then we ran into an issue, which was that I realized that the moment she met Gojo, it'd be over for her and Nanami.

Now that is just in my mind and everyone is free to feel and write about them however they want lol. But for me, I realized that the instant, mutual fascination between Gojo and Kagome would be so strong and so intense that they would just gravitate towards each other. Kagome wouldn't necessarily realize what was happening right away, but Nanami would. It would just have been sad, and not what I wanted to write.

(I could come up with another Nanami/Kagome story where that wouldn't be an issue mayyyybe but in those circumstances, there just wasn't a way out for them I'm afraid)

(actually it is angst I could get behind, but at that point I didn't want to write it) (no actual cheating involved, but Kagome would fall in love with Gojo while still with Nanami, and he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it from happening despite knowing it's happening and seeing it unfold) (he'd think he should leave her but wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it and eventually she'd be the one to go) (I think Gojo would never make the first move in those circumstances)

Buuuut the idea of Kagome coming in the Jujutsu world via Shibuya did stick with me. It started out as just a one-shot, ending where chapter one ends basically, and then I got attached, which I should have seen coming tbh, and now here we are lol.

[themulitipurposechannel]

Dynamics: Part 2, <Next!>

For Apocalypse F! Mikey: Now see Uncle Tello content is great and I love it. But consider this, it’s alr everywhere AND think bout Master Michelangelo /Uncle Mi/ lowkey unspoken Dad!Mikey supremacy ✨👀 think bout uncle Mi being the warm/comforting/ steadying presence that Cj clung to when Leo and April are stuck being the sole two pillars of leadership for the entirely of sentient life on earth and Donnie is off doing his mad scientist things(No hate to D but we know our boi has low empathy and tends to get hyper fixated to the point he ignores everyone. Not that he wouldn’t absolutely try for Junior cuz he would but ya know what I mean) which leaves the Mikey cuz our poor Raphie and Casey Sr died early.

Like Cmon guys hear me out Mike alr has Dr feelings and his ole mediator shtick. you can’t tell me that as he grew and matured it didn’t not grew stronger. Plus he defo Leaned into the whole mediator thing esp with the apocalypse cuz someone defo needed to be the calm mediator in the chaos that was the kraang. Plus he was ALR the most mentally/emotionally stable out of all the fam and a child in a chaotic environment (cough the apocalypse cough) is gonna unconsciously gravitate towards that. And mikey being mikey is then absolutely gonna white knuckle his “I’m emotionally healthy” even more cuz we got a kid now. We gotta make sure he grows up with SMTH.

Plus I like to think everyone had diff roles in raising Cj. Eg: Cj spends time with tello if he wants to hang out and blow shit up or wants to brainstorm tangible solutions. but if he needs/wants emotional support or emotional safety he goes to Mikey and if he wants all of the above plus advice in general it’s Leo and Comander April lmao (but 7/10 times it’s Leo). Side note: Before Raph died he and mikey used to tag team M’s role and April’s role was formerly Cassandra’s but welp we all know what happened 😭. Also I just wanna make it clear that these roles weren’t always hard and fast rule. It’s just generally the common status quo but was still subject to change depending on the circumstances cuz ppl are ppl and ppl are complex. Like if Cj was feeling particularly scared for Dee or April’s mortality I can guarantee he glomped them. And they let him.

Edit: In any case, their dynamic is basically all round calm, slow and cozy vibes. Cuz like I said, Mikey was acting as Cj’s living sentient equivalent of a warm, weighted blanket. Plus mystic overuse/cursed aging gave Mikey a lot of chronic fatigue and plus Mi leaning hard into the whole mediator thing rlly made him mellow out esp when he had to be responsible for a kid. So most of their hanging out was either sitting around talking about their day, making up stories bout random objects they found like ‘I bet that cup has a chip in cuz an alligator got it’ ,Cj ranting, mystic training, lots and lots of snuggles or (big shocker I know) Mikey reading to Cj (don’t Judge Cj, he finds Uncle’s Mi voice calming. And as tor Mikey, options are limited when you’re old, physically frail and in an apocalypse) or them reading whatever they can find in comfy silence with the occasional comment of ‘man this character is so stupid’ and ‘I know right!’ Or ‘im pretty sure this accident report is faked.’ Also In the earlier days when resources weren’t so scarce and Mikey had more energy they used to draw on the walls tgt using chalk but well.. stuff like that don’t last very long in the apocalypse.

.

For Past/present time: Once Cj starts to properly distinguish between future and present and feels a little more ready to start properly interacting with P!fam. He starts to build a stable relationship with Mikey. their dynamic is one of more equal standing cuz of the lack of age difference aka the big theme for this dynamic is all abt growing up tgt. This creates a more free and unrestrained dynamic where both feel more encouraged/safe to try new things cuz they don’t have to worry bout any hovering from any older siblings (sorry Leo he tries but even he can’t fully escape the big brother instincts even towards Case. Which is hilarious cuz Cj is the most self sufficient out of everyone XD ) and cuz they don’t have to worry bout looking stupid in front said older siblings if they fail/ being coddled if they fail. Initially it was a very big whiplash for Casey to adjust to the fact that someone he used to look for answers/ be a pillar was just as clueless as he was AND the fact he could freely argue back with said someone due to the lack of age difference.

But once both parties settled in, they have alot of fun just being kids and messing around. Honestly their dynamic is adorable. With Mikey’s more adventurous and more hopeful personality helping Cj start to relax a little more and start acting more like the 15 year old he is. And Cj’s more serious and sensible mindset helps Mikey become a little more thoughtful/cautious as he’s more open to Cj’s criticism cuz it feels alot less condescending than the rest of the fam due to the age similarity.

This dynamic also plays a part in Cj’s adjustment to the past. Due to said adventurous behaviour, Mike always wants to show Cj new things. And his emotionally intuitive nature helps him pick up when Cj is uncomfortable but doesn’t always feel comfortable saying it or can just generally quickly pick up the warning signs of a trigger. So after some trial and error Mikey gets pretty good at knowing when to push and pull Case out of his comfort zone or just out right cancel an outing cuz Dr feelings can sense the ensuing panic attack/ PTSD triggers. Which Casey rlly appreciates. On the flip side, Cj is the biggest advocate (second to Leo) for letting Mikey do his thing cuz he knows what Mikey is capable off and isn’t blinded with older sibling instincts. Which Mikey greatly appreciates. We stan mutually supportive siblings.

And as the youngest, they both bond (mostly Miguel talks, Cj listens oh how the tables turn) over how frustrating it is to see the rest of their family (for Cj it’s him using his experience with F!Fam to relate to P!Mikey cuz the P!Fam don’t rlly baby Casey the same way/the obvious extent they do for Miguel. For Mikey, it’s more they water down info either intentionally/unintentionally or try to stop him from doing stuff cuz they want to protect him. And for Cj, it’s more them trying to be extra subtly careful of his sore spots. Like Legit cuz of Cj, everyone at some point had independently googled ‘how to care for war-torn ptsd riddled relative’ and ‘how to help someone with material insecurity issues’ or ‘how to support someone going thru bereavement’. For once it wasn’t only Mike reading psych stuff lmao) trying to water things down for them like dums dums XD.

They also tag team the rest of their family with the combined powers of their puppy dog eyes and shared status as “baby’s of the family” to get out of trouble/get what they want like the gremlins they are 😂. Generally when hanging out they’re either doing things action driven stuff (a stark contrast to F!Mikey and Cj. Cuz P!Mikey is younger, less traumatised and hasn’t been peepawed) like graffiti (Mikey sprays full on masterpieces and Cj loves spraying colourful doodles cuz he’s delighted to play with all sorts of bright colours and see the pretty art Anglo makes that Cj didn’t have the luxuary of seeing in the apocalypse, so despite the huge skill gap, which is rapidly becoming smaller, they still have fun tgt), skateboarding, playing video games, parkour or Mikey kidnapping Cj to show/get him to try smth he didn’t get to do in the apocalypse, *cough the occasional arson cough* Like I said they’re awesome lmao

On a side note: both Cj and Mikey are very happy to have a cool brother/friend who is the same age as them. For Cj it’s cuz fellow kids were very rare back in his time. Meaning the kids that were round him were either much older or much younger so same age friends is very much a novel experience lmao. As for Mikey, although he does call Cj baby brother( he doesn’t actually enforce that unless in certain situations like Cj in distress or trying to get Cj to do Miguel’s part of chores lmao) most of the time he’s happy to not be alone in his age grp of family/friends cuz it can get a little lonely sometimes. Raph, April and Casey have each other, Donnie and Leo have each other and now Mikey and Cj have each other! Yaayyy

[the-ninjago-historian]

Ninjago Remastered Designs!

THEY'RE DONE! After months of work!!! They are DOOOOOOOOOOONE. WOOOOOOOOOOO! Lol! Welp, these are my Ninjago designs! Basically, this is my take on the Ninja if they were in a 2d animated cartoon! And yes! I will be drawing more characters. Tumblr butchered the quality, so close ups and design notes are below the cut. They're pretty detailed, so I highly recommend checking them out. Feel free to ask questions about the designs! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ - ✒️🐉

When designing these outfits, I tried to take inspiration from the ones in the show. And in terms of art style, drew inspiration from early 2000s cartoons, (Action Adventure ones specifically,) Anime inspired shows, and even a hint of traditional Disney animation. And while I designed them with a 2d cartoon in mind, most of the designs would most likely have to be simplified for them to be used in animation. So let's get started!

Kai: Kai was a pretty fun to work with. I actually didn't plan on giving him a sleeveless outfit. But it happened! And I like it! If you'll notice, the flame pattern on his vest mirrors the pattern on his sister Nya's outfit. I thought that would be a cool detail to include. It was inspired by their March of The Oni outfits. I also made sure to include his scar and bandaid. And gave him reddish brown eyes to signify his elemental power. Him and sister I imagine being Brazilian/Taiwanese. So I hope I captured their ethnicity properly. I'm pretty happy with this design. Especially his hair, which was hard to replicate.

Jay: Jay was a hard one for sure. I wasn't too sure how to vamp up his outfit. So I started by giving him some lightning patterns on his Gi. (At least I think that's what it's called?) And I decided to make it look a little baggy and soft. It just seemed to suit him. I tried something a little more form fitting and didn't look right. Also! A fun detail I included was his half the Yin Yang pendent around his neck! And of course Nya has her half. I imagine him having Irish ancestry, so I gave him pale, freckled skin. And gorgeous curly red hair. (As a fellow red head, I'm very proud.) Overall, I think he turned out pretty adorable. And his face is spot on.

Nya: Nya I pretty much got right on the first try! I just had a really clear vision of her in my head. I gave her a grey outfit with bright, vibrant blue details. The pattern on her Gi is inspired by Koi Scales. And she has her half of the Yin Yang pendent around her neck. I really like this one, because while it is simple, it's beautiful. And I think it reflects her element nicely. The only thing I missed was to give her a symbol like the rest. But overall, I love it! One more thing is that I wanted to give her and Pixal different hair. So when I finally release my Pixal design, you'll see that while they both have ponytails, I gave them different cut and styled ones. Should be neat!

Zane: Zane was the first one of the Ninjas I redesigned! I love how he turned out. I tried to give him a splintered ice effect on his outfit inspired by his Core minifigure and gave him his faithful falcon companion. Falcon has his old greyish purple feathers, but blue icy eyes to match his owner. I also wanted to give Zane flowing sleeves, that would look very majestic waving about in a blizzard wind. He is also incredibly tall. Taller than Cole even! I was inspired by the giant humanoid robots I'd seen in movies. In his cloaking disguise, I imagine him looking German. With blond hair, blue eyes, and light skin. I also like to think Dr Julian was German. (Was this influenced by my German ancestry? Who knows?)

Cole: You would not believe how many times I had to redraw this man's face. Haha! I just could find that sweet spot! That face that perfectly encapsulated his strong, but gentle personality. But I think I did it! His outfit is based on his Oni Trilogy Gi, with orange detailing. And he has his Island ponytail and bandana. I absolutely loved that hair style on him. So I had to use it! And if you'll notice, he has a beautiful tattoo on his right arm, with his symbol in the center. I imagine him being half Maori, from his mother's side. And the tattoo was inspired by Maori tattoos I saw pictures of. I'm not too sure how accurate those images were. But hopefully I hit the mark.

Lloyd: Finally! Our green Ninja Lloyd! His outfit was inspired by two things. Dragons, and his outfit from the Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitsu seasons. I gave him a beautiful golden dragon and cloud pattern on his clothes, a leather arm guard, and shoulder pads. If you look closer, you'll also see he has cat-like dragon eyes which pays homage to his dragon and Oni heritage. I like to think that depending on his emotions, his eyes will go from slits, to big and wide. So they are good indicators for his mood. I also imagine him being Japanese. But his powers give him his classic blond hair and green eyes. I'm very happy with this design. His hair, eyes, and face all look exactly how I see him in my head.

Well, that's all. I hope you enjoyed these designs and notes! I assure you, you will see more of the them.

Bye! - ✒️🐉

[bestworstcase]

ahaha. ahhaahah

she is going to spend the rest of the volume ripping herself apart to not be this

also god lmao “and penny—she—jaune tried to help, but she sacrificed herself to save the power” lol. lmao. weiss says the quiet part out loud but man. “jaune tried to help”—says the girl who lunged straight at cinder fall to protect her friend, who fought so hard to try to give jaune time to save penny and nearly died herself in doing so. “penny sacrificed herself to save the power” says the girl who is alive now because of that sacrifice. it all happened so fast. nobody came back from vacuo to help. jaune tried to help, but—weiss wasn’t good enough, and no one else was there. god. weiss sweetheart her blood is not on your hands.

“you weren’t supposed to be here”/“if you thought we wouldn’t come for you” ruby rose master of spin but also like yang straight up woke up in wonderland and concluded she was dead and the one thing she had left to hold on to was that at least she died saving her baby sister. at least it was her and not the others. and then they’re THERE and all she sees is my sister is dead until ruby makes it sound like they came here on purpose. to find her. if they came to rescue her then they can’t be dead and maybe she isn’t either lmao god. yang has been here five minutes and already gone on a whole emotional roller coaster while RWB got lost on the beach.

also she rly went welp i’m dead and a raccoon stole my arm so i’m gonna uno reverse the jabberwock about it, how do you like THESE eyes of flame you fucker. which is like the most yang thing she could possibly do lmfao. you think she’s traumatized? could a traumatized person do THIS? *chases a monster until she’s so exhausted she can barely stand* girl literally does not know what to do with herself if she’s not taking care of somebody else so she just goes apeshit on the most dangerous-looking thing in the vicinity because that’s WHO SHE IS, isn’t it, that’s what makes her special, every time something knocks her down she picks herself up and punches it back twice as hard, except it’s not working anymore. this time the monster runs away and yang runs herself into the ground clinging to this empty pantomime. “i said i wasn’t done with you yet!”—she sounds so strong—like the one liner, the rock to the back of the head, it’s a pitch perfect heroic entrance and then

babygirl you are serving yourself to the monsters on a silver platter again.

anyway

hysterical that blake just fucking body slams her. local bisexual gets in touch with her inner freight train. love is stored in the broken ribs

blake is also shaping up to be the one who lands on her feet and i am really intrigued by how strongly the ever after responds to her decisiveness; “i think we focus on getting everything back, then we can figure out how to get out of here” and the sunlight breaks through the clouds as the rain that answers ruby’s misery stops. it’s interesting because it positions blake pretty blatantly as a direct inversion of ruby, emotionally, in this moment, and the contrast being underlined here is specifically ruby’s overwhelming, paralytic despair vs blake’s clear-eyed focus on the what’s immediately in front of them. RWY are getting sucked into this vortex of anxiety about what happened after they fell but blake really hits the ground running. right out of the gate, she found weiss and immediately settled on a clear, achievable objective (find gambol shroud by piecing together its probable location based on when it fell in relation to herself and weiss and where they landed), already thinking ahead to what their next step should be after that (find yang and ruby) and trying to piece together what exactly this place is. she’s able to take a deep breath and shelve her feelings about the things she doesn’t know and can’t control in order to break her and her team’s current situation down into small, manageable steps even though she’s just as scared, confused, and upset as they are—

which 1. god she’s grown SO MUCH since the fall of beacon, and 2. what we’re looking at here is, i think, the first open salvo against the huntsman ethos. blake recognizes intuitively that their first priority right now is themselves. they’re not huntresses down here. they’re not the noble defenders of mankind; whatever the situation in vacuo is, it is wholly and completely out of their control and there’s nothing they can do to change that. so she’s putting it down. and as she lets that burden fall off her shoulders the sunlight pours through the clouds to show her the way forward.

[queen-scribbles]

Keeping Warm

Welp, wotr!Trinne/Lann have fic now. We all know what that means: the brainrot is here to stay. :D ---

The grey clouds overhead looked like snow, the threat given extra weight by the chill air, making this a horrible time to be galivanting around, but needs must. It wasn't like the demons would hold off rampaging until the weather was nicer. At least this clearing was semi-protected from the wind, though Trinne still shivered as she approached the solitary figure sitting a ways off from the fire. She bit back a grin.

"I want a rematch," she announced without preamble, playfully twirling the quarterstaff she held.

Lann's head snapped up from the longbow balanced across his knees, the half of his expression she could read torn between amusement and surprise. "Really? Now?"

"And have you kick my ass again, in front of our friends this time?" Trinne laughed, flicking a wrist toward where Seelah and Sosiel chatted, the former keeping half an eye on dinner and the latter clearing the components from his protection ritual. "Not a chance. Mostly I just wanted to see what your face would do if I asked."

He chuckled. "Mostly?"

She leaned the quarterstaff against a nearby tree. "Also wondering what you're doin' over here," she plunked down next to him, squeezing in to the left despite the wider space on his other side, "When the campfire is over there."

Lann shifted to give her more room, the lizard side of his face unreadable as always, but she was pretty sure the other half was pinker than a minute ago. "I thought my bowstring looked a little frayed after fighting those cultists earlier, wanted to check it over to see if it needs replacing or just maintenance." He ran a small hunk of beeswax along the length of the string. "I think it's alright for now, but working too close to the fire would dry it out and it would just fray that much faster."

"Okay, well, you could've thrown on an extra cloak," Trinne said as she cast an admiring look at his handiwork. "Gods know we have plenty. Or, y'know, even just a real shirt," she teased, poking the bare center of his chest.

"I'm fine. Also, almost done," Lann countered. He was trying very hard not to let her see the other half of his face, which, really, meant she didn't need to see it to know what it would show. "I wanted to take care of it tonight so I'm actually useful tomorrow without worrying my bow's about to break and take my nose out with it."

"Yes, you're plenty dashing without the added charm of a broken nose," she laughed, scooting closer again rather than call out the goosebumps she could see on his right arm.

He snorted. "Charm. Right."

"Hey, some people find them attractive," Trinne said with a shrug. "Me, I'd rather you stay uninjured. I like your face the way it is."

She hadn't quite meant to say that last part out loud, and heat rose in her cheeks. Lann looked down at the bowstring, preventing her from reading his expression, and Trinne swallowed a curse.

"There's something I don't hear every day," he deadpanned. "Usually it's shrieks or mothers hissing at their kids that it's rude to stare. Most aren't a fan of the whole stitched together look."

Less competition for me, then. Trinne bit her lip and just managed to hold that one back. "Their loss," she said lightly, bumping her shoulder to his. And lack of taste. It was only because she happened to be looking at his arms(looking, not ogling, much as archery did wonderful things for your arms and, well. She had working eyes) that she caught the faint shiver. "Maybe we should do a rematch."

Now he did turn to shoot her a questioning look for the abrupt shift.

"Maybe hand to hand this time so your 'stunning warrior maiden' can pick up some tricks," she teased, despite knowing that would likely end with her on her ass even faster; at least with a quarterstaff she knew what she was doing. (though not as well as him, clearly.) "At the very least it'll get the blood flowing and be a good way to keep warm."

Lann shook his head and laughed. "Trinne, I told you, I'm fine."

"Well, maybe I'm cold," she countered. His scaled shoulder was cool against hers, even though their clothes. "Or maybe I don't believe you b'cause I saw you shiver, Lann."

"I'm also almost done," he reminded her, a flash of a teasing smile on his face, "or I was before getting distracted."

"Alright, I can take a hint," Trinne snickered. "Just... either throw on a damn cloak or hurry up an' finish so you can come sit by the fire. I think Seelah's almost done dinner. I'll save you a seat and some monster casserole." She leaned over to kiss his cheek before pushing to her feet and heading for the cheery campfire glow without looking back.

The wind was still chilly, the sky threating snow, but there was a warmth in her chest that made those much less of a problem than a few minutes ago.

[kaija-rayne-author]

Review 2 in series for Dragon Age Veilguard

Spoilers for Veilguard

First part of review series is below.

I'm not an asshole disclaimer (same as the first one, if you read that, you can just skip down to the cut.)

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

9 hours in, 7 hours playtime.

Negative review

While I'm incredibly grateful that I can play this game, because I really hope the story actually starts soon, (yes, I said it, the pacing on this is terrible, and I'm both an editor and a writer, I have a clue). I hate to say... I am soooo glad I didn't buy it. Or I'd be demanding a refund. I didn’t actually look at the price tag, but it must’ve been around $80 Canadian. Given our cost of living crisis, that's obscene but whatever. Games are expensive.

It's just not worth that much in its current state. Sure. Games on release often have bugs. I kinda hate spending money to be an unpaid beta tester. BG3 had nowhere near as many.

My computer comes down right around the middle of the minimum and recommended specs. DA4 doesn't even make it get hot like BG3 makes it. So I'm really thinking glitchy game vs computer issues. Considering I'm not the only one it's happening to... welp. (I looked the glitch up, it's pretty common.)

5 out of 10 loads, my character glitches back to the stock elf body. And if I continue playing, it corrupts my saves and they won't load. It has also happened mid-battle, too. So I have to figure out which save to go back to before the glitch bit. Which, without pics in the save files is fun /s.

'Balanced' play isn’t. I play on tactician/hard in most games. I'm on balanced, and keep fucking dying. TBH I'm not extremely awesome with the controls and moves yet, but I'm not bad either. I honestly just think the bad guys are too overpowered (way too fast, hit too hard, and it takes too long to break their armour) for beginning levels. And yes, I have my Rook in the best armour I currently have. Maybe if I could carry more than 3 potions, it wouldn't matter as much, but IDEK man.

And you know what isn't actually any fun in games? Dying a lot. Also? Having to drop my difficulty level for regular bad guys less than ten hours into the game. It's still teaching me moves ffs, so is sorta the tutorial. I'm not a 'get gud' type. I think that's ridiculous. Gaming is supposed to be fun. If it makes it more fun to drop the level for a boss fight or whatever, more power to you. But I usually don't have to until end-game material. If I have to at all. It's honestly pretty rare. Load time is ridiculous, so every time an over-powered not-a-fucking-darkspawn slams my rogue (which I swear shouldn't be possible, I know how to fight with rogues, they're my first and favourite class), I get creamed because I'm bloody stuck in a place I shouldn't get stuck in.

I know they had testing on this. Wasn't that why the date was pushed back? My memory isn't great since COVID but I think I might’ve seen that somewhere.

Solavellans will likely be disappointed in the first seven hours. You see Solas twice. He may as well not even be in the game.

And I really hate to say this, but I'm just bored. I wasn’t itching to play it like I usually am with good games. (If a game catches me up, it's about the only thing I want to do.) I still loaded it up tonight, didn’t have anything better to do. (Because I'd probably have done that instead.) I'm mostly playing so I know what happens in the story myself. And I was hoping we'd get some answers to all this lore that lives in my head, rent free. So, whatever, I'm still hoping it will catch me up. I'll keep playing in hopes we actually get something resembling a story at some point soon.

And the number of editorial errors is ridiculous. Both developmental and copy.

'Cause bodies can't decompose in the Anderfels? Because nothing external lives there? Granted, I have specialized knowledge there (former forensic anthropologist) but, that isn't remotely how decomp works.

Does your 3 week old raw hamburger not rot because it was in a cold, dark place without any external decomposers? (My 17 year old knew the correct answer to that, so did my 12 year old.)

The primary forms of humanoid/mammalian decomposition come from inside us. Bugs don't even start showing up for a bit. Why do you think bodies bloat? Our gut bacteria going wild. Why do you think bodies are routinely embalmed? No bugs (usually) in a funeral home or morgue either.

And y'know? I actually outright told Epler on Twitter (before it went to complete hell) that he needed a better editor or 4 after playing DAI. And DAV already has more editorial issues than I noticed in the whole first half of DAI. Way to prove my point.

I'm an exacting editor. I'm pretty good at it. And I don't expect perfection in anything. Perfectionism is a trauma response, after all. But so many errors so soon? Really?

I'm not even getting into the story issues. Because I'm still hoping we actually, y'know, get to a story? And if I'm really lucky? That story will cover some of the glaring errors.

But so far? I'm not impressed. I've never, since I started playing DA games, been fucking bored.

Next one is here:

[howlingday]

The Trial of C. Fall

Ironwood: Will the defendant please rise?

Cinder: (Stands)

Ironwood: Ms. Fall, you stand in this court of law accused of the crime clearly caught on this camera mere moments ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ironwood: (About to sit down)

Cinder: (Places whoopie cushion) Hee hee~!

PBRRT!

Ironwood: OOH!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gallery: (Gasp)

Cinder: Oh, this is just for that? I thought this was about the school bus full of children I set on fire-

Weiss: (Coughs, Clears throat) Shut the fuck up!

OBJECTION!

Ironwood: ...Nothing's happened yet.

Ruby: S-Sorry, I got excited.

Ruby: It's just that this is the most obvious, clear cut, cut and dry, copy and pay, cock and balls case I ever did see. I don't even know why Ms. Schnee and her client bothered to show up, other than to make a mockery of this courtroom!

Weiss: Now that's just out of order!

Ruby: WRONG!

Gallery: (Gasp)

Ruby: If it were out of order, it'd be WRONG! I've gotta see Schnee's cock and balls, even-

Ironwood: ROSE! Stop! Sh- Shut up. Make your opening arguments to the jury.

Ruby: Alright! ...Wait, where is the jury?

Weiss: (Points at bathroom) Making jury doodie.

Ruby: Whatever. I'd like to call my first witness to the stand. Miss Clown Weiss Schnee.

Clown Weiss: (Honks, Points to empty case for her whoopie cushion)

Weiss: AWOOGA! I've got a bad case of clussy fever, and I wanna make whoopie with HER cushions!

Ironwood: ORDER, MS. SCHNEE! OORDEER!

Weiss: I order Miss Schnee to put her BUTT her whole BUTT and nothing BUT her BUTT on my face~!

Clown Weiss: (Honks, Hides her blushing face)

OBJECTIFYING!

Ruby: So, Miss Fall, you Mentos your innocence?

Cinder: (Stares as Ruby snickers)

Ruby: Well, I spoke to an old teacher of yours, a Miss Salem, and she said that you were always quite the troublemaker in her classes. ALWAYS MAKING THEM PRANKS.

Gallery: (Gasp)

Cinder: That's not entirely true.

Gallery: (Gasps)

Weiss: OOH! Too bad! Looks like Ruby Rose just Ruby SUCKED!

OBJECTION!

Ruby: She made fun of me!

Cinder: I was a bit of class clown-

Weiss: (Snaps her attention to the statement, Internal honking intensifies)

Cinder: -when I was younger, but I grew out of it.

Ruby: Well, I don't know about that, Cindy Fee, because I thought that joke you pulled with the school bus was pretty funny! Guess you're still a bit of a prankster after all!

Gallery: (Gasp)

Ruby: I GOT YOU NOW, YOU FUCKIN MORON BITCH!

Ironwood: Any arguments, Miss Schnee? OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH?!

Weiss: (Going through folders, Panicking) Um, that is, you see...

Ruby: Ooh! What's the matter, Weiss? I think you might be losing your winning streak... Schneak...

Weiss: Cut the crap, Rose! Don't give me anymore of your shit!

Ruby: Hmph! Fine by me, Miss Schnee. (Growing dark stain shows on her skirt)

Weiss: Whuh...?

Ruby: Heh heh... You didn't say anything about pee.

Gallery: (Gasp)

Weiss: The prosecution may have fancy tricks up her cock-sleeve like going potty on herself, (Performs her thumb removal trick) but can she do this~?

OBJECTION!

Ruby: Looks like defendant is becoming belligerent and has started dismembering her lawyer. Thumb. By. Thumb.

Gallery: (Gasp)

Weiss: (Folds in thumb) Pfft! That's not- (Looks at her hand) SHE'S RIGHT!

Nora: (Bathroom) We, the jury find beyond-

Yang: (Bathroom) UUUUUUUUUUUUUUNGH!

Nora: We the jury find beyond all reasonable doubt that the defense (Muffled by flushing sounds)

Ruby: (Dusts hands) Welp, that's one for the books!

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Cinder: (Behind bars)

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Jaune: Please... Let me home...

Clown Weiss: (Honks)