#Aileen is sighing.

[astraystayyh]

In my dreams

Seungmin x reader. (fake) enemies to lovers. my interpretation of in my dreams by tearliner, love X stereo.

Seungmin has never liked you. You never understood why, but you were slowly coming to terms with it. However, you gradually come to learn that there is more to his feelings than what meets the eye.

skz song series

cw: reader has anxiety and deals with lots of self-doubt and insecurities.

a.n: the end of our skz song series!! and a pretty personal final fic, this one is based on my own experience with anxiety, so it might differ for everyone :) thank you for reading as always <3

You watch, a soft smile on your face as two little girls play with one another in the playground. It reminds you of simpler times, when you could just walk up to another human and become friends with them instantly.

But reality is much more challenging, especially for someone like you, constantly plagued by their anxious thoughts.

Anxiety didn't tiptoe into your life, one drop at a time so you'd get accustomed to its overwhelming presence. Instead, you woke up one day and it barged into you, through cracks and dents you didn't even know existed in your being, and then it made itself a permanent home within the confines of your heart.

You never truly learned how to live with this parasite feeding off your soul, draining you completely until you became a mere shell of who you once were. You never fully adjusted to the invisible hands choking you from within, to the voice nagging you in the back of your mind, telling you that something horrible was bound to happen.

Because nothing ever went wrong, day after day, nothing bad happened. And yet, the feeling of dread persisted and lingered until you started to believe that the problem was you.

And once you opened the door to self-doubt, you could never fully close it again.

You're too overwhelmed, too nervous, too much of everything bad. Your conversations are scrutinized, down to every syllable you uttered, to the way you smiled and how you laughed. The interactions might differ but the regret that haunts you after is the same.

So, you diluted your being, in an effort to be more acceptable, easier in the lives of the people around you. You believed that if you pleased everyone you ever encoutered then at the end you must satisfy yourself too.

You sigh softly, drumming your fingers along your knee. You’re starting a new year in college tomorrow. Your first one wasn't exceptional by any means. Aileen, the girl who sat beside you from time to time was nice, and you grabbed coffee sometimes as you prepared for your exams together. But she had other friends, ones she's much closer to, ones she invited to her birthday party, ones who she didn't simply fill her free time with.

You shake your head, putting a stop to the thoughts in your head before they get too much once again, pushing you over an edge you don't want to be in right now. 

You'll try harder this year. You'll be okay, for once.

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

Your professor Lee is scribbling something on the large whiteboard, as he waits for the class to fill up. Someone sits next to you, and the smell of their cologne wafts to your nose- hints of vanilla and wood seemingly calming down your nerves. You quickly take a glance at them, to find a guy with long brown hair and freckles dusting his cheeks. He's taking out his notepad from his bag, and you smile at the chick keychain he has on it. He catches you looking and you quickly avert your gaze, heat creeping up your cheeks. 

"Hi, I'm Felix," he greets enthusiastically, and you turn your head slowly to be met with his wide grin. It softens his features, making his eyes turn into moon crescents. You envy his ability to smile without overthinking how he looks. 

"Yn," you introduce back, and he nods, the grin still etched on his face. "You were in my Economics class last year, no?" he asks and you tilt your head to the side, as you mull over his question.

"I was but I don't remember seeing you," you admit sheepishly and he waves a hand in the air, not bothered the least by your words. 

"It's okay, I just remembered your presentation on Inflation. I finally understood why we can't just print more money," he admits with a chuckle, and you giggle against your will. 

"I don't blame you, it sounds like an easy solution," you agree, and his eyes widen. 

"Right! when I tell my friends they just stare at me in disappointment."

You laugh at his adorable pout, an unfamiliar warmth stirring within your chest. He's nice. 

"I'm glad I helped you then, I was so nervous presenting it," you clear your throat as he smiles impressively at you. "Really? I couldn’t tell at all." 

Mr. Lee calls for your attention and you both turn your heads back to the board. You couldn’t really focus, Felix’s words echoing in your head like a broken mantra- he couldn’t tell you were nervous. A sudden relief dawns on you at the possibility that, maybe, not everyone is aware of the neverending storm raging within you, threatening to drown you at any giving moment.

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

"Movie night at my dorm?" Felix proposes as he packs up his bag, your two hours long class finally done.

"Will Seungmin be there?" you ask, a slight edge to your voice and Felix pauses, shaking his head at you.

"Yn, you're overreacting. I promise he doesn't hate you."

"Have you ever seen him smiling at me?" you ask, arching your eyebrow expectantly at him. He stays silent and you wiggle your finger in the air. "Exactly! Please tell me he won't be there."

"About that... He's helping me bake the cookies," Felix smiles sheepishly and you groan, falling dramatically on your seat.

"I’m not coming."

"But the cookies," Felix pouts, and the promise of the chewy baked goods is so enticing it makes you second-guess your decision.

"The cookies...," you whine, and Felix giggles grabbing your hand to pull you up.

"I’ll see you at 5?"

"Yes," you concede, a small smile on your lips. You wait until Felix bids you goodbye for it to finally slip from your face.

Seungmin has never liked you, from the moment Felix introduced you to him. You still remember it clear as day, the way his eyes slightly widened when they fell on you, before narrowing down. How he didn't utter a single word when Felix left you both alone to get your drinks. Your panic grew as an uncomfortable silence reigned on the both of you, and you racked your brain for something to say to cut through that eerie quiet.  

"Seungmin, right?" you asked, a bit too cheerfully, and you winced inwardly at your tone. He didn't reply, only humming back. It was so faint you wouldn't have caught it had you not been staring at him intently.

"What's your major?" Your voice cracked.

"Computer science." He replied curtly, and you waited patiently, expecting him to return the question. He didn't. And you shifted awkwardly from one foot to another. Maybe he just didn't do well with strangers. Maybe he wasn't a chatty person, to complement Felix's extroverted nature.

But you were wrong. You watched in complete astonishment as he teased Felix relentlessly, a wide smile on his face. It made his eyes soften, a newfound fondness itching itself on his expressions. He laughed and he joked and you felt yourself shrink more and more, this way he wouldn't notice you anymore, wouldn't glare at you as if you did something horribly wrong to him.

Felix tried to include you as best as he could in their conversation, but you tuned it out. It was hard to focus on their talk when there was a tumultuous one ongoing in your mind. Seungmin's behavior just further cemented every horrible idea you held about yourself. There is something wrong about you, and he can see it. You may have fooled Felix but you didn't fool Seungmin. If you were him you wouldn't talk to you either.

Every encounter with Seungmin since then left you feeling fifteen years old again, in a classroom full of unkind eyes zeroed on you. You tried to talk about his interests, to string along a normal conversation, one that would reassure that your first encounter was a wrongful impression.

But he did not like talking to you, only offering short replies in response. It’s as if his tongue was tied in your response, and in return it only magnified the knot in your stomach. You went through every conversation with him a million times in your head, trying to pinpoint what exactly went wrong. What warranted him to be so silent in your presence, and yours only, as if you weren’t worthy of a simple conversation. And the answer always tied back to you.

So, you’ve been avoiding him like the plague for the past month, sparing him the chore that is existing near you. It was particularly hard since Felix was his best friend and roommate, and surprisingly he actually enjoyed spending time with you. Still, you couldn’t help but think that it was only a matter of time before Felix started to hate you too.  

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

"You're moving too much," Seungmin chastises and you freeze in your place at his words. You are sitting on the couch of Felix’s dorm later on that day, a horror movie playing in the small TV before you. Felix decided to lay on the floor, buried in a pool of yellow blankets, and a long pillow that weirdly had the picture of one of their friends printed on it. "It's my safety net," he explained and you didn't question him any further.

For some reason, Seungmin decided to sit next to you, instead of the opposing couch. Granted, he can see the TV more clearly from here, still this is the first time he willingly went somewhere near you, let alone talked to you.

You decide to ignore him, too focused on predicting the next jump scare, your feet tapping the floor furiously. But still, it happens so abruptly, eliciting a startled gasp from you, anf you clutch the edge of the couch even tighter.  

"Close your eyes," Seungmin speaks suddenly and you raise an eyebrow at him, confused. 

"There is a jump scare coming soon," he clears his throat, "just... close your eyes if you don't want to see it." 

You comply without much thought and soon enough, you can hear a shrill scream coming from the screen. He was right. 

"It passed," he says softly, and you tentatively open your eyes once again. There is a foreign expression on Seungmin's face, one you haven't seen before, but it passes as quickly as it came, like a dream slipping between your fingers as soon as you wake up. 

"How did you know?" you ask, hugging your knees tightly to your chest. 

"I already watched this movie."

"Really? Why are you watching it again?"

"Because. I had nothing better to do," he says, almost defensively, his hand now covering his mouth as if he had to physically stop the words from spilling out. 

You don't reply, turning back to look at the screen. Seungmin doesn't tell you when a jump scare is coming next, he simply taps your arm, and you close your eyes on cue. 

His hand brushing against your bare skin feels weird, not uncomfortable by any means, but it still is a foreign sensation. You didn't know he had such soft hands, and you always imagined them to be cold. But they are warm, and you wonder what other things about Seungmin you've been wrong about.

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

"I'm so tired," Felix groans, laying his head on your shoulder and you giggle, patting his head in mock sympathy. It's been three months since the start of your year, which means that the assignments are starting to pile up on you all.

"Me too," you sigh, and Seungmin stays silent next to you. Felix dragged you both to this coffeeshop, a little outing to recharge his spirit, as he texted you. You're slowly getting used to Seungmin's brooding presence. He talks to you a little more, even cracking a few jokes here and there. But you’re still wary of him. You keep your guard up just in case he forcefully brings a mirror to your face once again, reminding you of everything you despise about yourself.

"I'll go order, it's my treat. Pick a place for us?" Felix says and you nod, walking ahead of Seungmin towards a table near the back.

You sit down first, and Seungmin follows second, sitting right across from you. You quickly bring out your phone, scrolling mindlessly through the apps to distract yourself from the man in front of you.

"You have a presentation tomorrow, right?" Seungmin speaks up, startling you, and you slowly put your phone down.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Felix told me that it makes up 25% of your grade. Are you nervous?"

"A little," you admit, even though ‘a little’ didn't even begin to cover it.

"Don't be. You'll do well," he says, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. You almost feel as if you've imagined it before it dissipates.

"Thank you," you nod, as Felix brings the tray down your table.

"Is this for me?" you ask tentatively, pointing to the strawberry milkshake, a sore thumb sticking out between the iced americano, and the hazelnut Frappuccino, Seungmin’s and Felix’s respective go to orders.

"They got the order wrong. I got you an iced matcha," Felix pouts, double checking his receipt.

"It's okay," you smile slightly. There was nothing you despised more than having to change up your order.

"You don't want to drink this," Seungmin says, staring at you expectantly and you wave your hand in the air dismissively. "I don't mind."

Seungmin stands up, grabbing the drink from your hand before taking the receipt from the table. He goes to the counter and you watch in astonishment as he comes back, a green drink in hand this time.

"Here," he hands you your cup, before grabbing his own and sipping from it. Your drink is cold, but the warm tingles spreading through your being at his sweet gesture outweigh any other feeling.

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

Talking in front of 267 people never gets easier.

You memorized your presentation; you rehearsed it so much you could probably recite it with your eyes closed. Yet, the nerves still found a way to weave themselves inside you. Your hands were shaking, so much you couldn't even stare at the notes you prepared. Your palms were sweaty, blood rushing rapidly to your ears, tuning out your voice as you spoke.

You can’t even recall what you said exactly, it’s as if your body had a mind of its own, your mouth moving itself without you commanding it. You aren’t sure how it was, but someone smiled at you reassuringly from the first row, and the professor clapped, so you assume you did okay.

The class finally ends, your nerves slowly dissipating and leaving in their trail an excruciating exhaustion. You rub your eyes tiredly, as you slowly walk out of the door, before stopping in your tracks when you notice Seungmin leaning against the wall, hands buried in his varsity jacket.

His eyes are closed, a pair of earphones dangling across his chest. But then, as if he feels you looking at him, he opens his eyes, locking his gaze on you. You stay put in your place as he walks to you, his bag loosely hanging from his shoulder. He hooks his thumb underneath the strap, keeping it in place

"How was it?" he questions, and it takes you a few seconds to register what he was asking about. Your presentation. Was he waiting for you?

"I think I did well?" you reply, but it comes out more of a question to which he giggles softly.

"Are you asking me?" he teases and you roll your eyes playfully. "I did well," you repeat and he smiles, nodding a bit. "I’m sure you did. Here." He opens his bag, taking out your favorite chocolate bar from it- it had bits of caramelized pistachio and almonds in it. Seungmin doesn’t like it, he prefers plain milk chocolate, as Felix told you one day.

"Eat this, I ended up buying two by mistake, I still have an extra one at the dorm." You grab it from his hands, and he quickly leaves before you could properly thank him.

≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋≋

You always dread the days you'd wake up with a heavy weight crushing your chest.

You try to distract yourself, try to focus in class and take notes. You try to laugh at Felix's jokes and savor the brownies he just brought you. But you can't. It feels as if you're a cup filled to the brim, each passing second bringing you closer to when that fateful drop would finally make you overflow. And you could do nothing but watch yourself unravel.

Seungmin's eyes never leave you, and it only makes your anxiety spike. It feels as if he's peering inside your soul, witnessing how a cord ties itself around your throat, making it impossible for you to breathe. You can't speak anymore, every word you say threatening to make tears spill out of your eyes. You aren't sure you can make them stop if they ever start falling.

Nothing happened, nothing's happening, you try to remind yourself. But you are scratching your hand incessantly, and you feel an overwhelming need to flee. To run away, somewhere where only you would witness the display of your broken soul. So you sputter a meek excuse, and then you stand up and head to your dorm.

It's raining outside, and you don't have an umbrella. But you are grateful for it, since the rain mingles with your salty tears, shielding them from the curious eyes of the people passing by. You need to get home, you need to hide somewhere and you need to remember how to breathe-

"Yn," a hand grabs your forearm and you startle, instinctively taking two hurried steps back. It's Seungmin. He removed his blue hoodie and he's now placing it over both of your heads.

"What are you doing? You'll get sick," he sounds mad, and you can't take his disappointed tone anymore.

"I'm having a bad day and I don't need you to make it worse," you say, startling yourself with the raw emotion in your voice.

He physically recoils from your words, his arms faltering as he gazes at you, a wounded look in his eyes. "I make your days worse?" he asks quietly and his voice sounds so small, you can't help the regret that courses through you.

"Come on, Seungmin," you chuckle warily, "don't you hate me?"

"No?"

"Hate is a strong word, okay. You dislike me."

"I don't. Why would you think that?"

"Because you never wanted to talk to me, from the moment we met. And it wouldn't matter if you were this way with everyone, but it's only me. And you make me feel so small each time I'm around you," you ramble angrily, as Seungmin's eyes widen with each passing second.

"Yn, yn, I don't- I didn't know you felt this way, but I don't hate you. I truly don't, I promise you," he's panicking, voice growing higher with each word, and you feel a sudden embarrassment flood your being for lashing out at him.

You don't know what to say and he sighs, looking up at the cloudy sky before meeting your eyes once again.

"This is embarrassing, God, um..." he places his hoodie on top of your head before running a hand through his face. "I don't talk to you because you make me nervous." 

"I do?"

"Yes. A lot," he chuckles, a pink hue tinting his cheeks. "I just... I find you very interesting, and funny, and I like watching you, not in a creepy way, my God what am I saying," he whines, hiding his face in his hands and you can't help the giggle that escapes your mouth.

"Don't laugh," he pouts and you nod, willing the smile to disappear from your face. 

"I like watching you exist. Just laugh and smile and talk. You look very pretty doing it. I just don't know how to deal with it. That's on me."

This time the smile is effectively gone from your face. The weight of his confession distracting you from the turmoil of emotions that swirled within you.

"I'm sorry, for making you feel that way. I never meant to. For what it's worth, you make me feel like a small kid again, as if I'm having a crush for the first time." 

A fresh wave of tears brims in your waterline, and Seungmin's eyes soften at the sight.

"Please don't cry," he says, gently wiping the rain droplets from your cheeks. "I don't hate you, I think I like you too much and that's the problem." 

I'm sorry I misjudged you, until you wiped my tears off away

"Okay," you say quietly, your mind not yet registering what he said, too busy focusing on his hands on your face. You can't believe you've ever felt invisible because of Seungmin, when he's looking at you like you're the most precious being in the world. 

"You had a bad day?" he asks, his knuckles brushing against your cheek tenderly, and you nod, silently. 

"Would you like a hug?" he asks, and you nod again. A hug sounded nice. 

He steps forward, wrapping his arms around you. His t-shirt is cold, clinging to his now wet skin. But a surprising warmth emanates from his chest, shielding you from the pouring rain- it travels from his body to yours, as if it's a familiar path, one it underwent a million times before. His hand finds your back, and he pats it gently, following a soothing rhythm, one you try to sync your breathing to. "You did well," he whispers, "you always do well," and his words feel like a patch of shade on a scorching day.

You exhale softly, tightening your arms around his waist. You think you can stay here, for a while. You could rest in Seungmin, now and tomorrow, and maybe for the following months. If he still likes you this much. 

Bonus 

"I'm ready," Seungmin says, his soft hair tickling your bare skin. He's laying on top of your stomach, black tie undone, a piece of crumpled paper in his hands. You can tell he's nervous, with the way he looks up at the ceiling, avoiding your gaze. You lean down, pressing a sweet kiss to the top of his head. He closes his eyes, his hold on the yellowed paper slightly faltering.

"I'm all ears," you whisper, and he smiles softly at you, before looking at his written vows- the ones you decided to read to each other after your wedding ceremony, just the two of you, in your personal bubble. It feels much more intimate this way, they are words meant for you only to hear, after all.

"My love," he starts, and he can already feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He blinks repeatedly, in a desperate attempt to keep them at bay. "If I'm reading this it means I finally married you, which is probably the best thing I've ever done in my life." You giggle and he can't help but smile at the sound of your laugh.

"I am writing these vows one year into our relationship, I haven't proposed yet, but I just know you're the one I want to marry. And I suppose I don't want to forget everything I want to say to you, when that day comes." His words make your breath hitch in your throat as realization dawns on you- he wrote this three years ago, and he kept it safe, till this day.

"I still remember when I saw you for the first time. I couldn't talk because you looked so pretty, and you were smiling at Felix and I felt an overwhelming need to be the one you were smiling at. I think you cast a spell on me because I couldn't even ask you about your major back, I couldn't believe how awestruck I was. But you already know this, don't you?" He looks up at you, pressing a quick kiss to your stomach and you smile widely. You still remember when Seungmin recounted the first time you met, from his perspective. Rosy cheeks and fumbling words as he explained how much he felt for you in that instant, and how little he could express it.

"But there are still things I haven't told you," he clears his throat. "Like how Felix told me what horror movie he was planning to watch with you, and I looked it up the night before, to memorize all the jump scares just in case you were afraid. And you were, and I'm glad I did. I don't even like horror movies, but it was worth watching it three times in a row, just for you."

"Also, how I had to run out of my class to yours, so I'd catch you after the end of your presentation. I bought that chocolate only for you. I kept a stack of fifteen bars hidden in my desk, just in case you were feeling down, and you ended up needing it. I kept asking Felix about everything you liked, and disliked, and he was probably sick of me at that time," he chuckles, as memories of begging his roommate for any bit of information about you flooded his mind.

"I don't know how far into the future it'll be when I'll finally read this to you. I don't know how I'll be, or where I'll be, but as long as you're with me then I must be okay. I used to overthink everything, plan every part of my life so it'd run smoothly. That is until you came into my life, so suddenly, and you flipped it upside down. I didn't care to plan my life anymore, all that mattered is that it revolved around you," he pauses, sucking in a deep breath.

"I knew I wanted to marry you when you took me stargazing. You talked about the stars and galaxies so excitedly. And then you brought up Saturn; how it was unique among the planets, adorned with thousands of ringlets. And I remember thinking that you're my saturn, you're the dazzling planet that everyone admires and I'm the ring spinning around you, the one you're keeping afloat. And as long as you're here, I have a purpose and I'm okay. So please..." his voice wavers, as silent tears slip out of his eyes.

"Don't leave me. I know we're married now, but still, don't leave me. I love you. I feel like I've loved you in different lifetimes, in different earths and timelines. Everything can come crashing down around us, but one thing that'll forever remain the same is my love for you. I was made to love you, after all. My eyes were made to look at you, and my hands to graze your cheeks. And my heart... My heart was made to beat for you. And I love you. I feel like I don't say it enough but I truly love you. As long as I'm breathing then I'm yours."

[buggybambi]

nurse cupid | carmen berzatto

claire and carmen used to date. you work under claire, and are now dating carmen. what a fucked up triangle ─ 1.33k cw: fem!reader, she/her pronouns used

Ever since you were young, you knew you wanted to be a nurse. Every career day at school, your answer was the same: "I want to be a nurse and help people!" usually written in yellow crayon.

So, managing to score a job in an ER in Chicago was a dream come true. You loved Chicago and your charge nurse, Claire, was one of your closest friends. Emphasis on was. That was before you and Carmy met.

Carmen Berzatto. The boy you met through Syd, one of your oldest friends. After weeks of back and forth flirting, you and him finally asked for each other's numbers and set up a date, much to Syd's apprecation since all he talked about outside of work was you and if you were stopping in.

Claire only found out about your relationship with Carmy after he insisted taking you to work one particularly snowy morning, leaving you with a goodbye kiss.

That day, she gave you more work then usual. More charts, more patients to watch over and check on, and that was on top of your usual work load. Plus, everytime you asked her a question she gave an exhausted sounding sigh and explained it to you like you were a child, with a condescending tone in her voice.

"Claire." You walk over to her, setting the charts (filled out) down on the desk. "What the hell is your issue with me today? You've been giving me your patients and frankly, your attitude towards me is passive aggressive. If there's something I did, tell me what it is and I can fix it." You request.

Her pager beeps as she hums. "The chief wants to see you." She says, beginning to walk off, and you follow her.

──

As soon as you stepped foot into the chief’s office, you knew what was happening. One of the ladies from HR you’d met once before, the chief, and Claire. Sat around a coffee table.

“Hi Y/n. Glad you could join us.” You know that’s HR talk for “glad we summoned you, let’s tell you what you did wrong.”

You sit down, noticing the look Claire gives you. It’s almost a glare.

“Mm. Can I ask what this is about?” You question.

“Well, Claire here has a feeling that you’re trying to shove a personal relationship in her face. I understand you are dating her ex and she just feels that-”

“That you’re basically trying to remind me of what Carmen and I went through. What we once had.” Claire cuts Aileen (the woman from HR) off, tilting her head at you as she waits on a response.

You stare at her, actually letting out a mix of a scoff and a laugh. “I’m sorry? Claire, Carm and you broke up nearly a year ago. Why are you still hooked on him?”

“This isn’t about me. You knew damn well I’d be at work this morning when he dropped you off.” “It was freezing cold! He didn’t want me walking or taking a cold train, so he offered to drive me since it’s on his way to work. He gave me a kiss and I never even brought it up to you.”

“Ladies!” The chief cuts you both off. “Aileen has agreed to investigate this further. Y/n, refraining from engaging with your boyfriend for respect of Claire’s feelings would be best.” He encourages.

You actually have tears in your eyes from the frusturation, your hands shaking from where you sit. "I'm sorry, can you excuse me for a moment?" You ask softly, standing up before they answer and practically running out of the room.

You barely make it out before you hear the office door shut, not by you but by Claire. "Y/n-"

"What the hell did I do to you, huh? Is this because Carmen and you broke up, or maybe because I didn't come running to you asking for your permission before I began dating him? What is it?" You question, throwing your hands in the air before slapping your hands against your side.

"Don't blame me for this. You're the one who had to go and act like a.. like a school girl bitch and put your relationship with him near me." She scolds. The tears you had been fighting back actually start falling at that, as you wipe them quickly. You shake your head, as you push past her and the flood of doctors.

──

Cold air be damned, you cross your arms over your chest as you lean against the brick wall outside. Ambulances soar past toward the ER exit, but you don't pay them any attention. It isn't until a familiar car pulls up in front of you that you actually look up.

"Hey, pretty girl. You okay?" Carmen's comforting voice asks, getting out of his car with his coat in hands, putting it over your shoulders. His heart breaks at the sight of your tears, nose red from probably the cold and crying, a frown matching yours.

You bury your face in his neck, only moving it to speak. "Claire saw you drop me off this morning and reported me to human resources. Then called me a school-girl bitch for 'putting our relationship near her'." You answer, your voice soft.

He nods slowly, trying to keep himself calm near you. "Why don't you go get in the car, huh? I'll go grab your stuff from inside." He asks, taking your hands in his. You smile. "Thanks, Carmy. Just behave yourself, please." You request, before climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

He watches to make sure you're safe in the car before he goes inside, fists clenched at his side. Behaving himself was something Carmen had never enjoyed doing, so why would he?

He spots Claire almost immediately, walking over. "Carmen-" She begins.

"Claire. What the fuck is your problem?" He cuts her off, staring at her. "Y/n has done nothing to you. If you're pissed about how we left things, that's fine. But you have zero right to harass my girlfriend over how I’ve moved on. I suggest you do the same.”

He doesn’t wait for a reply, instead making his way up to the chief’s office. Knocking on the door and waiting for the faint "come in", Carmen steps into the office and clears his throat as his jacket hangs off one arm.

“Hi, sir. My name is Carmen Berzatto, I’m-”

“I know who you are, son.” Ed, the chief, says with a nod. “And I know why you’re here. And I’d like to only say this once, so I’d appreciate your listening. Y/n is a fantastic employee as I'm sure she's a fantastic partner. I hate to see that girl crying. So, allow this to be a warning.." Ed stands, circling the desk and sitting on the edge, arms crossed right in front of Carmen.

".. If you hurt her, and I find she comes into work again crying because of you, I will end you. Are we clear?" Ed asks, and Carmen immediately asks. "Yes, sir, thank you." He says.

Carmen made his way back to the car, finding you in the frontseat, staring at the radio. He sets your bag in the backseat, climbing into the passenger's seat. "Your radio is all weird." You mumble.

He laughs, placing a kiss on your head. "I'm sorry about Claire. I should have told you.. I promise I am gonna spend the rest of the day making it up to you." He says.

You smile at him. "As long as I've got you, I don't care, Carmy. It isn't your fault."

He grins. "Well, you've got me for as long as you'll have me."

──

It doesn't shock anyone when you're moved to a different unit a week later, this time one where your boyfriend didn't date the charge nurse that would harass you. At least if they did, Carmy would be there to comfort you.

Like he always is.

˙ ✩°˖🌸 ⋆｡˚꩜

shine on, shine on, my loves!

thank you for reading! please feel free to engage with this post by reblogging, commenting or sliding into my inbox to leave feedback! i appreciate all of you! check out my carmen berzatto masterlist here for more fanfics!

- mae

[kiss-theggoat]

billy loomis x stu macher x reader

hi hun! could u do something where billy loomis and stu macher find out reader is like them? but reader is like, cold, calm, and manipulative?

anything but smut pls <3

thank you! have a cool day :)

A/N: You got it babes 🫶🏻 Hope you like!

Three’s A Crowd

Billy and Stu x F!Reader

Word Count: 800

Summary: After discussing the murder of Casey Becker, Billy and Stu think they’ve found someone who might be committed to their cause.

TW: Canon typical violence

You sighed as you plopped down on the concrete beside Sydney and Tatum, sitting between the two couples. Randy was ranting about something or other, like usual, but you couldn’t be bothered to pay attention. To be honest, all this fuss with the murders was…annoying. You’d been pulled out of class twice to be “checked on” which is a nice way of saying interviewed, and offered grief counseling from some girl who’s been rude to you since middle school.

Now, all anyone can talk about is Casey and Shane. You’d hoped that sitting next to your friends would give you a break, but alas, Randy was spewing some shit about movies and rules and killing. You rolled your eyes and picked up the small bag of chips from your bag, tearing it open.

“Did they ask you guys if you liked to hunt?” Stu asked, looking towards Billy and Randy, who both nodded their heads.

“They didn’t ask us if we liked to hunt.” Tatum pointed out, shrugging her shoulders. Which was true. None of the girls were asked any questions pertaining to the death of Casey or Shane, just where they were and if they’d like grief counseling, while the boys were looked at more carefully. Which, you thought, was pretty offensive.

Stu laughed, popping a grape into his mouth “Because a girl couldn’t have killed them.”

“Wrong.” You said frankly, voice monotone, chip crunching between your teeth.

Everyone looked towards you, Stu and Randy with the usual misogynistic mansplain face on. “I heard they were gutted. A girl couldn’t do that.” Stu stated, and Randy immediately followed up, “And most serial killers are men.”

“First off all, Randy, a killer has to rack up three kills to be labeled a serial killer. And second of all, Stu, women can, and have, kill people like that.”

Billy sat up onto his palms, now paying more attention to the way you spoke.

“Oh yeah? Give me an example.”

You scoffed, crumpling your now empty chip bag and shoving it into the pocket of your backpack. “Are you stupid? Have you ever heard of… I don’t know, Elizabeth Bathory? One of the first women to be accused of serial killing. She’d capture virgins from the village, torture them, then bathe in their blood. She believed it kept her young.”

“Yeah, accused. And she used servants.” Randy rebutted, giving you a cocky smile.

“Okay… Aileen Wuornos.”

“Just shot her victims, never gutted them.”

“Randy, I’m not arguing if a woman could gut someone or not. Don’t be an idiot, of course a woman could. I’m saying that women are just as capable of being killers. What about Juana Barraza? Killed like…50 innocent elderly people. Just because she didn’t gut them doesn’t mean she is a better person.”

Stu nodded a little bit, eating another grape before speaking. “I guess you’re right.”

You looked over to Sydney, seeing how uncomfortable she was, which made you feel a little guilty but you’d been walking in eggshells around her for a year. You shifted a little bit and leaned back against your hands, sighing. “Doesn’t matter anyway. They won’t catch who did it.”

Billy finally chimed in. “Why do you say that?”

“I heard a couple cops saying they found no evidence at the scene. Like a ghost killed them.” You said nonchalantly, causing Billy to look over to Stu. They made eye contact for a moment, but nobody caught it.

Billy watched you carefully. It seemed like you couldn’t care less about Casey being killed…and that interested him. The bell rang, and everyone stood and disbursed, except for Billy and Stu.

Stu leaned over, whispering into Billy’s ear. “She doesn’t care at all dude…this is awesome.” He was giddy. Billy knew Stu’s always had the hots for you, and this caused him to roll his eyes just a bit. But he couldn’t lie…this excited him too.

“Don't get your hopes up, Stu…”

“You think she’d help us?”

Billy turned to stare at him for a moment…maybe you would.

[sadghostbitch]

Go ahead and cry, little boy

written for ‘Fool’ | wc: 454 | rated: T | cw: none, I don't think | Tags: T for slight swearing, pre-steddie, no upside down AU, mentions of children abandonment, recreational drug use, hurt/comfort wannabe.

@steddiemicrofic

================

Eddie watches how Steve Harrington gets saddled with a child that isn't his.

The entire town knows what happened.

Steve Harrington dated Nancy Wheeler for a year, back in high school, until she made a fool out of him with Jonathan Byers.

And yet, here they were, seven years after the fact, with the eyes of the town on Wheeler dropping her firstborn onto her ex before fucking off to wherever she lived now.

So Eddie watched.

Harrington going to the store with the kid, buying groceries and looking like a fool while trying to buy baby shit he found on the aisle.

Harrington speaking with every mother in Hawkins, looking for advice from the fools who've done it before.

Harrington looking exhausted (and still as beautiful as ever), on his dead end job at family video, where he had raised into a management position.

Harrington on his door one afternoon, foolishly asking if he still sold drugs.

"I do. But don't you have a child now? Where are they?"

Harrington sighed, dragging a hand across his face.

"I asked Karen and the kids to babysit her, I- look, I'm tired. And I just wanted some weed, if you can't sell me that I'll just leave"

Eddie watched him while he spoke. Harrington DID look exhausted, like he'll kneel over the second he lets go, the second he leaves the tension drain of his body.

And Eddie wants to see that, he suddenly realizes, he wants to see Harrington at his most relaxed, without the stress he always seems to carry around, so he makes a choice.

============

Eddie watches Harring- Steve (he'd asked Eddie to call him that) relax on his bed, all loose limbs and hazy eyes, looking the most calm and pretty Eddie has ever seen him.

"I don't think I'm ready for this. Aileen deserves better than a twenty-something fool taking care of her instead of her mom"

Eddie startles, they've been quiet this whole time, but Steve talks, undeterred, about his kid.

"But Nancy didn't want her, you know? So she called me, because she remembered some dumb shit I told her the last time we met and gave her to me."

Stevie is crying now, still beautiful, looking entirely like the fool he is while his haze is stuck on the ceiling and the words keep slipping out.

"And I wasn't ready, but I just couldn't leave her, I didn't want her to be like me"

Eddie reaches out, sweeping the tears out of Stevie's face.

"It was hard, wasn't it? It's okay sweetheart, I've got you"

Those big, beautiful sad eyes stare at him.

"You promise?"

"I promise"

Stevie is a fool, yet Eddie still finds him lovely.

[dreamyyesenia]

Always Keep Simming - A Ghostly Winterfest

The Blackburn’s kids received their winterfest presents!

The big meal was a pepperoni pizza, during which Lenore kept glancing at Colin. She was very flirty and very much in the mood. Aileen didn’t miss a thing though 😅

Watching a drama: Aileen and Gemma found it amusing, Colin was super serious and Gavin in tears

Aileen swooped her husband into a kiss after the movie was over. This got Colin very excited, so some private winterfest celebrations had to be held 🔥

⬇️ Full Story below

The Blackburn's had a decent Winterfest Eve and Winterfest Day - as much as was possible hiding in a Haunted House which was occupied by the long lost daughter ghost of Mortimer Goth... Lenore was very thankful to have company this year. She was, in fact, a little bit too thankful, especially towards Colin. She kept stealing glances at him during their big meal (which had to be a quickly ordered pizza because Aileen and Colin were very busy with the Grim Reaper's Requests...) and was in a very flirty mood. Aileen was not amused by this, of course, and of course, Gemma didn't miss a thing either.

Still, the family watched a dramatic film together (which Aileen and Gemma found quite amusing lol - and Colin and Gavin were rather sad and even shed some tears).

Afterwards, everyone exchanged gifts. Lenore tried to flirt with Colin but he politely pushed her away, to instead ask his wife to wohoo (in front of the kids yes, yes, let's just say he asked her to watch the stars together okayyy.) Lenore seemed to get the message and backed up. Her eyes remained on the couple until they vanished in the bathroom. She sighed audibly. Gemma asked, inquistively: "What do you want with my dad? My mum and him are in love, don't you see?" Lenore lowered her head. "It's not your dad, specifically. I just admire the deep bond between your parents. I wish I'd have experienced that before dying", she murmured. Gavin came close and said, in a gentle voice (so much like his dad this one): "You can still find your soulmate though, even as a ghost!" Gemma nodded, clapping her hands. "Yes, yes, we read a story about two ghosts being soulmates but they never met as sims, only after their deaths. They didn't move on because of their unfinished business, which was always to find each other. It was such a wonderful love story!", Gemma explained. "What if that's your fate, Lenore? What if you can't move on because your one-true-love is out there, searching for you, too?"

-

Note: Alexander was not alone on Winterfest! He got a ghostly visitor as well and told Aileen and Colin he didn't mind having some alone time with her...

[sofasoap]

life of Captains

Bit of angry writing and wanting to throw down ideas that will never really eventuate into full story.

Task 141 boy will be in their 40s. Risen to the ranks of captains.

Mature themes. Minors DNI. Read at your own risk. Masterlist

Captain Soap MacTavish

“Morning.”

“... What’s with that?”  Ghost pointed.

“ You like it? Took me a long time to grow and trim.”

“....”

“Morning Ghost. Morning Price…. You are not Price.”

“ Hey Gaz. Long time no see. Congratulations on joining the captain rank.”

“ … What is with the mutton chop? Are you trying to be Price?” 

“Nah, my wife commented on how much she likes my beard once after I was too lazy to shave so I thought I gave it a go.” 

“Too much information. I don’t need to know.”

Next day someone left a fishing hat and cigar on Soap’s desk. 

“What happened to your hair?”

“Oh this? Ghost did it. It was getting a bit too long so I asked him to trim it back for me.”

“.. well tell him to stick to his day time occupation. No one ruins my joysticks to pleasure.”

Captain Simon Ghost Riley

“Here’s the file Captain.”

“ Thank you…..” Simon paused. 

“.... You want to say something?”

“... Is your Ma still angry with me?”

“.... Yes.” Aileen sighed. “Da. You knew she would have found out one way or another, you should have let her know.” 

Simon knew it was his own fault. He never saw you so angry since you fell out with him when you announced the surprise pregnancy with the twins. 

He didn’t want you to be worried. But Soap accidentally let it slip.

Wrath of Mrs Riley was not to be trifled with. 

“... Ma said she wants tulips, no roses.”

Simon smiled under his mask. Taking the hint that your anger is starting to subside, and now it’s the chance for him to make amends.

Later that day, a few soldiers saw their famous Captain at the florist, ordering a huge bouquet of flowers, with twin Sargents nagging him.

Captain John Price

“CAPTAIN JONATHAN PRICE.”

Air in the room instantly froze. Everyone knows when you, the head of the medical team, uses that tone, someone is going to be dying under your wrathful spit.

“ Yes lo…. Yes Ma’am. What can I do for you.”

“ In my office. NOW.” 

 Price can sense everyone’s pity through their eyes as he walks out of the room. Good luck, stay alive.

Price follows you silently through the corridor. Towards the direction of his office. 

Price smirked. 

Price emerges from his office early the next day, hair and shirt dishevelled but sporting a smug smile, plus a few hickies on his neck. 

Captain Kyle Gaz Garrick

“You promise?”

“ Yes babe. I promise.I will be home more and less on field missions from now on.”

Fifteen years of marriage with Kyle, through the up and down. Worrying that a phone call from unknown number is going to be the phone call, telling you your husband isn’t going to come home to you anymore. 

“They have been bugging me for years to share my expertise with the  metro police special units, I thought it was time to take up that offer.”

“ So you're going to be teaching in front of all those recruits? Should I start calling you Professor Garrick, and get you a bi-focal glasses that I been nagging you about?”

Gaz rolled his eyes. He refuses to admit he is starting to struggle to read fine prints, even with Price nudging him.

“ There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Part of him is glad he will get to spend more time with his family. He missed out on so many milestone events. You understand that comes with the jobs, but seeing disappointment in the children’s eyes when you tell them again and again that their daddy isn’t going to be home for their first recital or performances really hurts you both.

He worked hard enough, it is time for him to step back, to enjoy time with his family, and with his taskforce 141 families as well.

Sorry @brewed-pangolin for stealing the mohawk joystick quote.

[jcalexandrewrites]

CNN | Judge dismisses Trump classified documents case

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the classified documents case against Donald Trump, a shock ruling that clears away one of the major legal challenges facing the former president. In a 93-page ruling, District Judge Aileen Cannon said the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution. She did not rule on whether Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents was proper or not. “In the end, it seems the Executive’s growing comfort in appointing ‘regulatory’ special counsels in the more recent era has followed an ad hoc pattern with little judicial scrutiny,” Cannon wrote.

Sigh.

So much for justice.

[freeher]

intro post!! work in progress

tess. she/her. 17.

no dni unless I feel the need to make one.

this is a mainly informational tcc blog! I am most interested in (atm) aileen wuornos, jodi arias, columbine (sigh), and criminal pysch. this list will get updated.

I particularly and always interested in female killers!

zero day blog is @sillyhahasilly

I do not condone and I don't actually think woman who kill people should be freed.

tagging system

I tag all informational posts so one can search my blog with said tag to learn shit abt cases!! updating as I go.

aileen > aileen wuornos

alyssa > alyssa bustamante

blaze > Andrew blaze/randy star

columbine 1999 > related to the shooting, includes both perps.

brenda > brenda spencer

colt > colt gray

jodi > jodi arias

lanza > adam lanza

stephan balliet

vladislav > that guy idk his last name and idc tbh

[dreamstormdragon]

TMNT 2k3 AU WIP #1: Fish Out of Water

Decided it'd be fun to start sharing WIPS and stuff again, so I wanted to share a sneak peek of a new project called Fish Out of Water.

Fish Out of Water, is my shameless OCXCanon fict, revising a character I've had since I was 17. I've been wanting to bring her back and after much encouragement from Aileen ( @theblueskyphoenix go check out her TMNT art!) Without further adieu... Here's a sneak peek of what's to come under the cut!

It was a foggy night. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

The clouds hid the moon while the fog set the stage across New York City.

The Battle Shells headlights cut through it, as Donnie sat up front.

He hated driving in this weather. It was getting late.

They lost track of time if he was being honest.

April had invited the turtles over, for a movie and food in exchange for helping with some chores around the 2nd Time Around.

“I figure you four don't need Casey for this… again.”

“Oof,” Raph winced. “What'd he do this time?”

April rolled her eyes.

“You don't wanna know.”

“So, what're we thinking…Casey able to redeem himself or are we gonna have to decide between friend and foe?” Mikey asked, breaking Donnie out of his train of thought.

So much had changed. New lair… New friends but danger at every turn. 

Yet, they had hope. They had defeated the Shredder! 

They took down the Mousers…

He couldn't shake the feeling something else was missing.

“I mean, we didn't think the superhero thing was gonna happen either,” Raph glanced behind him. He was sitting up front while Leo and Mikey were in the back. “Yet…”

“I proved you guys wrong!” Mikey grinned.

The other three groaned.

“Mikey we said we were sorry like ten times. Let. It go.” Leo pleaded.

“Nah I'm not bored yet.”

Donnie hummed, his mind going over various consoles Mikey had left on his work bench. His grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Ugh, this weather….

“Hey, Mikey, how much do you value your GameCube?”

Mikey’s baby blue eyes vanished as his inner eyelid shifted.

“You. Wouldn't. Dare.”

“Maybe I would put it on the top shelf.”

The turtles often referred to the top shelf of Donnie’s work area Death Row of Appliances, because once they went up, they might never come back down. 

“No!”

“Appliance Hell. Brutal. I like it.” Raph nudged him.

Donnie chuckled.

“Heh…” 

Finally, the fog was starting to fade, as a truck pulled out in front of them, cutting the armored truck off.

Donnie cussed, as he slowed down, to avoid colliding with it.

Raph leaned his hand out the window.

“HEY A-HOLE! IT’S CALLED A STOP SIGN!” He roared out at the truck.

“Raph, don’t.” Donnie sighed. “He’s just an a-”

The truck had double doors on the back, with a window on each door. 

The headlights illuminated the back of the truck, when..

THUNK!

A hand hit the window, slamming into it. 

“What the?”

Raph’s eyes widened, glancing over.

“I wasn’t the only one who saw that right?”

The truck was picking up speed.

THUNK!

A face appeared in the window, the person inside throwing themselves against the doors.

Trouble.

Don narrowed his eyes.

“Guys, we need to make a stop.”

I don’t like this.

A muffled scream made it through.

“SOMEBODY PLEASE!”

Leo and Mikey narrowed their eyes, as they turned their attention towards it.

“Donnie?”

“I’m already on it.”

Donnie narrowed his eyes.

The Battle Shell, sped after the truck, as the turtles, prepared for a new mission ahead.

“What’s the plan Leo?” Mikey asked, getting to his feet.

“Mikey, Raph you’re with me, Donnie get the Battle Shell as close as you can!” 

He opened the latch on the roof, climbing out, the wind blowing his mask tails around.

The cold night air was crisp as he climbed up onto the rooftop.

His vivid green irises vanished behind the inner eyelid. 

It was time to get to work.

-----------------

She woke up, in the back of some sort of refrigerated truck… covered up by a sheet, on the floor. The last thing she had remembered was blinding pain…

“Now, now don’t make such a fuss!” Dr. Stockman chided, as he approached her, syringe in hand.

A glowing green liquid was held up to her face.

“I hate to say this… but this will hurt.”

That man…

She had been held captive by him and the other scientists, for weeks, with several other people… she wasn’t sure what happened to the woman she had shared a cell with.

Sidney…

She had been kind to her.

“What’re they gonna do to us?” 

“Shh…” 

Sidney, wrapped an arm around her shoulder. 

Neither, really wanted to speculate on that. The constant tests… The medical exams.

Their minds conjured up the worst. Sidney tried to put on a brave smile, brushing Lorelei’s hair out of her face.

Lorelei hugged her tighter, whimpering.

“It’ll be okay, we’ll be fine… they’ll… someone will find us. It’ll be okay Lorelei.” 

They knew she was lying… but was it lying if it kept them sane?

Nothing had been fine!

One minute, she was on that monster’s table, struggling to catch her breath, pain coursing through her body…

Her body hurt so bad.

“AAAAAAGH!”

Her heart was racing, thundering in her chest, she couldn’t breathe.

Dots danced in front of her vision. 

A heart monitor nearby screamed.

Dr. Stockman, called out some sort of order, before looking down at her.

She wasn’t sure when… her eyes had closed and oblivion welcomed her into it’s loving embrace.

She coughed, sputtering, as she pulled herself to her feet.

Her body ached.

What… happened? Where am I?

Her mind raced, trying to get her mind to slow down. 

She felt something around her wrist. Some sort of rubber band with a paper tag on it.

Subject #25

Age: 15

Cause of Death: 

During the procedure, a complication occurred resulting in full respiratory and cardiac arrest. Resuscitation efforts failed.

Time of Death: 9:30 PM, 11/02/2003

Death?

Her heart skipped a beat.

If they thought she was dead… then…

She looked around her, as the realization set in. She was being taken somewhere to be disposed of. 

If they realized she was still alive, they would take her either right to the lab or…

They’ll just kill me. I’ve seen their faces. 

Her body was heavy as she stood up, stumbling. She looked down, as she tripped over something, as her foot collided with…

OW!

She stumbled, slamming into the doors of the truck. Part of her hoped, maybe they’d fall open and she’d fall out.

The other part was preoccupied with what she had tripped on.

A long… fish-like tail, that leads from the base of her spine, to the floor. It was brown, ending in a large fin.

What… happened to me?

Panic bubbled up in her, as her mind raced, her heart rushing to catch up.

Bile threatened to escape her, before she shook her head, hitting it against the door.

“Calm down!” She yelled, inhaling deeply. “Think through this. Come on.”

She lifted her head… as her eyes widened.

There was a large green truck, a real muscle car.

Maybe…

Just maybe.

She narrowed her eyes and forced herself to her feet.

 She winced ,as she stumbled, nearly stepping over her… tail, oh gosh that was really hers? She shook her head.

She took a few steps back, before throwing herself HARD against it.

She slammed her hand, hard, her fist repeated against the window, screaming at the top of her lungs.

The truck swerved, as the drivers too were alerted, to her living presence. 

Lorelei threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“SOMEBODY PLEASE! HELP MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

She stumbled, as the truck picked up speed, as she was thrown against the floor again.

“AGH!”

SCREEECH!

Something metal collided with her side, as she gasped, before grabbing it.

A tire iron.. 

She grinned.

At least, this was better than nothing.

She got to her feet, gripping it in both hands.

Lorelei took a deep breath.

I’m not dying for real tonight.

She swung it against the window, as the glass shattered from the force.

CRACK!

She covered her face as shards flew into the trailer, with her, she used the tire iron to clear out more glass, before shoving her arm through, waving frantically for help.

Headlights flashed in her eyes, blinding her momentarily.

Please…

She bit back a sob. 

“Please!!!” She screamed. “CALL 911!! HELP ME!!!”

Her scream echoed clear through the night now, hoping it reached…

As she peered through the window, she spotted two figures atop the truck.

Please… Please…

Her eyes burned, as she sobbed, lowering her head.

“Please…”

----------

The truck accelerated, as the drivers became aware of their passenger. The vehicle swerved, a loud shriek echoing from inside.

CRAA-AAAACK!!!

The window broke out, as the person inside, forced their arm through.

“Please!!! CALL 911!! HELP ME!!!”

Her scream echoed clear through the night now, sending a chill down the turtles spines.

Mikey growled.

“Leo! What’s the plan!?”

“Crap.” Leo hissed under his breath. “RAPH, DONNIE BOX ‘EM IN!”

The doors opened up, as the Shell Cycle roared to life.

Donnie glanced in the rear view mirror, at Raphael.

“Make it hurt.” He smirked.

“You know me.”

Like a bat out of Hell, the Shell Cycle sailed out of the car, landing as Raph pulled up around the right side of the truck.

Leo and Mikey, crouched down, holding onto the roof, as Donnie swerved, to corner it.

The wind blew their masks' tails behind them.

Leo exhaled slowly, before pushing off in one smooth motion, as he lunged onto the roof of the truck.

“Hey MIkey?” “Yeah?” “Get ready to play catch.”

Mikey winced.

“Back in the car?”

Leo smirked.

“Back in the car.” “Aye, aye Captain!” He joked, before dropping back down through the hatch in the roof.

The truck swerved, as Leo crouched down, his stomach rolling for a moment.

He inhaled deeply…

Be careful… be swift…

The truck swerved and the turtle stumbled briefly, before catching himself, his heart leaping up into his throat.

Leonardo held his breath, as gravity threatened to take him down to the street below.

He righted himself.

“RAPH, WATCH IT!” He screamed.

Raph coasted back behind the truck, moving to catch up with the Battle Shell.

Mikey rolled down the passenger window, leaning out.

“What!?”

“That spike strip, Donnie borrowed last week!? Is it installed!?” 

Mikey’s eyes lit up, as a wicked grin crossed his face.

“Ohh, THAT THING! Yep!”

Mikey leaned back into the cabin, turning to Donatello.

Donnie’s face was narrowed in focus.

“What do we need?” He asked, his voice clipped and even.

“Spike strip.”

“I see what he’s thinking. You got it.”

Mikey stuck his arm out the window, giving Raph a thumbs up.

“Which button?”

Donnie exhaled, unclenching his jaw, his hazel eyes returning for a moment.

He gave Mikey a playful grin.

“The red one.”

Mikey’s eyes lit up.

“DIBS!”

----------

Thank you so much, see you soon!

[loverrofmineee]

The Parting Glass - Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal x OC

AO3 | Summary | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Chapter 3- You Deserve It

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The past three weeks had not been kind to those at Thorpe Abbotts. Crews were going down left and right, and to top it all off, a crew had crashed during a test practice. Morale was low on base, and Bucky deemed that the remaining crews, alongside the women of the base, should all go out for a night at the local pub.

As the girls got ready, each one had a job to do. Anika was in charge of painting nails with clean coats of Victory Red, due to her perfectionism. Lilibet was helping each girl with makeup, helping to ensure their red lipstick would be smudge-proof for the evening ahead. Shiv provided the girls with sips of alcohol that had been swiped from the bar, and Aileen was doing her best to set the tone for the night. Sorcha had been tasked with doing each of the women’s hair, pushing aside each girl's complaint of her being too forceful.

“Ouch!” Aileen cried from her seat on Sorcha’s bed, “Why do you always have to be on hair?”

“You asked me to! And unfortunately, beauty is pain, love.”

Aileen sighed in agreement to her response, shifting the conversation so that she wouldn’t be focused on how much pain her head was in, “I’m going to dance with a man tonight.”

“Let me guess,” Shiv started, seemingly knowing how the conversation would go, “That man would be Egan?”

“No,” Aileen stated, causing the girls to gasp, “I’m done with him. There’s no point in chasing after a man when there’s so many available.”

Sorcha smiled at her friend's words, feeling a mixture of pride and sympathy. As much as she wanted the Major and Aileen to get together, there was only so much she could do. Aileen was right in her own way, seeing as there were dozens of men who would fall at her feet if she so much as smiled at them.

“Anika would know something about that, wouldn’t she?” Lilibet teased. Anika let out a noise of shock before launching her pillow at the girl. Harmonious laughter sounded from the chorus of girls, each reveling in the harmless teasing of the others. A sense of peace washed over Sorcha as she looked upon her friends. For a moment she forgot that they were all stationed on a military base, miles from home. The atmosphere of the hut felt like one of a college dorm, with girls giggling over boys they liked, sneaking sips of alcohol, all while getting ready for the night.

“Okay,” Shiv spoke, grabbing the girls' attention, “So we know Anika has DeMarco, Aileen will find whoever, and Lilibet has her boy at home. That leaves you and me, Devs.”

Sorcha was fast to shake her head at Shiv’s words, “Absolutely not. I have no interest in falling for anyone right now.”

The girls let out various sounds of protest at their friend's words. Each one of them wanted to see their friend appreciated as she should be. Sorcha was not one to discuss her dating history, firmly stuck in the belief that the past should remain in the past, and that there was no need to rehash what happened years ago. Still, her friends attempted to bring the topic of romance up when they felt it was necessary.

“There’s no point in changing my mind girls.” Sorcha stated as she finished up Aileen's hair, “Oh don’t you look gorgeous!” Aileen spun herself around, letting the girls shower her with praise as she giggled.

“Yes, yes, we all look gorgeous. But could we get going now? I don’t want to miss all the fun.”

“Ma’am yes ma’am. Anything you say, Major Shiv.” teased Anika, giving the girl a military salute and walking towards the door in a march. Aileen was quick to follow the girl, her giggles continuing as the group headed towards the door. Lilibet stood beside Sorcha, linking their arms as they stepped out into the darkness of the evening.

“They’re going to be a lot to handle tonight, aren’t they?”

“When are they not Lils?”

—-----------------------------------------—

The pub was bursting with energy when the women arrived, the sound of music combined with lively conversations was enough to make Sorcha burst from happiness. This atmosphere reminded Sorcha of home, as her parents would take their family to local pubs, eager to engage with fellow Irish immigrants in the community. Sorcha had learned to dance by the age of 3 and could list off the names of countless drinks by 8. Some would look at her upbringing and believe she was a walking stereotype, but Sorcha took it with pride, not being ashamed of how she was raised.

As soon as the girls stepped foot in the building, John Egan was there to greet them. The man stumbled on his way over, but still exuded charm, “There’s my girls! We’ve been waiting up for ya.”

“Clearly not long enough,” Shiv stated as she gazed at the Major, unimpressed.

“You wound me, Shiv, you really do.” Bucky clutched his heart, exaggerating the effect the words had on him. Still unimpressed and unenthused by the Major, Shiv grabbed Aileen and Anika and moved towards the bar, leaving Lilibet and Sorcha on their own.

“She doesn’t like me,” Egan said as he turned to the women in front of him.

“No, she does not.”

“I love how you sugarcoat things for me Devs. Really makes a man feel good about himself.”

“If you wanted to feel good about yourself, you wouldn’t keep me around.”

Bucky chuckled as he took in Sorcha’s words, leaving the conversation as he pursued a new target. Lilibet looped her arm through Sorcha’s as she led them to the bar. Once they arrived, they could see Anika chatting with DeMarco, and a few feet away Shiv and Aileen were looking for a suitable candidate to be Aileen’s next match. A soft smile fell upon Sorcha’s lips as she watched the scenes around her. There were a few times she felt at peace during the war, and seeing her friends happy was one of those times.

“I ordered you a Whisky if that's ok,” Lilibet spoke as she noticed her friend's fond expression, “You do so much for these girls, Devs. Honestly, they all look up to you.”

Sorcha shook her head as she received her friend's compliments, “No. If anything, they look up to you. You’ve been here longer than we have.”

“Don’t try to deflect my praise and then call me old!”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Lils.”

“Do I?” Lilibet teased before taking a sip of her drink, “In all honesty, Devs. I know you’re not looking for anyone, but what about Egan? I mean you’re with him all the time. Practically glued to the hip.”

Sorcha was quick to dismiss her friend's words, “Trust me, that’s not a thing. First of all, it would crush Aileen, even though she says she’s over him. Plus, we’re just good friends. I know that because he hasn’t made any real advances on me. I know what everyone says, but it's better to let them continue than lose my friendship with him.”

“God, you’re so mature.”

“I only seem that way, Lils. Believe me, I’m not always this way.”

Lilibet rolled her eyes at Sorcha’s words, understanding that no amount of arguing would sway her position. The two women stood in comfortable silence as they sipped their drinks and watched the scenes in front of them. Occasionally they would whisper something to the other, whether it was poking fun at a pilot who was too drunk to walk, or checking in on their girls. Aileen was currently chatting with Curt Biddick, whereas Shiv had opted to converse with some Red Cross girls. Sorcha and Lilibet had to decline dances with a few men, given that Lilibet had a boyfriend, and Sorcha was just plain uninterested. Though to her credit, Lilibet only chastised her friend's lack of socializing a few times.

Sorcha was on her second drink of the evening when a blushing Aileen came in front of her, Curt on her heels. “Ma’am,” the young man spoke as he addressed the two women. Sorcha could feel the nerves pouring out of him, though she couldn’t blame him, seeing as the Tower Girls had built a reputation for being protective over one another.

“Curt, it’s nice to see you again.” Sorcha greeted as she eyed the man up and down. “I hope that you’re treating our Aileen all right.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Oh please don’t call any of us ma’am,” Lilibet groaned, “It makes me feel so old.”

Aileen was quick to chastise her friend, giving Lilibet a quick slap on the arm, “Leave him alone Lils.” Curt chuckled beside the girl as she wrapped an arm around his waist, not going unnoticed by Sorcha.

“Ease up on the guy, that’s my New York brethren you’re talking to.”

“That’s right,” Curt spoke with a sense of pride, “Aileen mentioned that you’re from New York and that you’re Irish. Seems like we have something in common.”

“Oh please,” Aileen interrupted with her thick accent, “You two are Irish-American. I’m the only Irish one in the group.”

Sorcha and Curt shared a look at the girl's words, laughing to themselves in a quiet understanding. “Of course you are, who else could compare?”

Aileen flushed at Curt’s words, unable to form a proper response. Before she could get her words in order, Bucky called for Curt to join the men at their table.

Curt turned to Aileen as he planted a brief kiss on her cheek, “Duty calls. I’ll be back soon.”

The Irish girl's face was bright red, matching her ginger hair as she avoided the knowing looks of her friends. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” Sorcha cooly asked, receiving a glare from Aileen, “We’re just happy for you. Biddick’s a nice guy.”

“Just don’t get too attached already, sweetheart,” Lilibet said softly. She took it upon herself to be the mother hen of the group, having more life experience, as well as a strong relationship.

“I won’t!” Aileen protested, “I promise, I won’t. He’s just such a sweet guy.”

Sorcha and Lilibet chuckled at the girl's words, understanding them to be half-true. Aileen was the youngest out of their small group, so then others took it upon themselves to watch over her. Each girl had their own way of going about it, Shiv being the most direct with her advice. Sorcha viewed Aileen as the younger sister she had always wanted. The two were close, but no one could compare to Lilibet in Sorcha’s book. Sorcha met Lilibet on her first day at Thorpe Abbotts. Lilibet had recently been transferred there by the WAAF, to train the newcomers and share her 4 years of experience. Sorcha found herself drawn to Lilibet, asking her about her life since the start of the war, eager to try and understand what she was getting into. Lilibet was kind to her, divulging what she felt comfortable with, and in time, growing close to the girl filled with questions. By the time the crews arrived, the two were inseparable.

The women remained by their place at the bar, chatting about the work ahead of them tomorrow, that no one was looking forward to. Shiv and Anika eventually rejoined the group, falling into conversation alongside their friends, each girl attempting to pry information from Anika about her night with DeMarco.

Sounds of commotion outside broke the women out of their exchange, heading into the alleyway where the scene was occurring. When they stepped outside they were greeted by the image of an RAF officer lying on the cobblestone, and Curt being spun in the air by Bucky. All eyes fell on the group of women as they emerged, their cries of victory being replaced by shy silence.

Curt though, was undeterred as he made his way over to Aileen, “Guess who just socked an RAF prick in the face!”

Aileen avoided the man's eyes and she attempted to be judgemental, but a small smile cracked her terrible facade. Sorcha and Lilibet glanced at Aileen as Curt wrapped an arm around her, “What?” She exclaimed, “He probably deserved it.”

“Damn right, he did!” Cried Bucky who was standing alongside Buck and Croz, the latter meeting Sorcha’s eyes with a nervous smile.

“How about we get you boys home?” Lilibet asked as she attempted to herd the group down the alleyway and back into the street. Sorcha was about to follow before she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She didn’t need to look to know it was Bucky, alcohol reeking from him.

“What’s your stance on boxing, Devs?”

“I don’t really have one Bucky. Sorry to disappoint.”

“That’s a shame. You should’ve seen Curt go at that British know-it-all.” Bucky said as the two followed the rest of the group back to base. “That kid has fists of lightning I tell ya.”

Sorcha chuckled at the man's words before prompting a question, “Dare I ask what the fight was about?”

A sudden seriousness washed over Egan at his friend’s words, all the drunkenness leaving his body, “They were telling us how to bomb. Saying we’re going on suicide missions. As if I don’t know that! Believe me, I do. I’m up there as an air exec, watching my men go down mission after mission.”

Sorcha remained silent as Bucky spoke, taking in each of his grievances. She felt pained as he continued, wishing there was a way to help him in this moment. Both of them knew what the obvious fix for his problem was, but Bucky had a job as an air exec and would do his best until he could get demoted and back in the forts. All she could do to comfort Bucky was squeeze his hand, knowing that no amount of words would take away the pain and loss he felt.

“You’re doing what’s been asked of you. Every man on base looks up to you Bucky, all you can do is lead them the best you can.”

Bucky glanced down at Sorcha, a soft smile playing on his lips, “Enough of this sincerity, Devs. Doesn’t look good for my reputation.”

“God forbid I’m nice to you for a moment. I’ll remember this when you’re hungover tomorrow”

“I take it back,” Bucky replied quickly, “You can be a menace when I’m hungover.”

“I’m not that bad!” Sorcha protested as Bucky laughed at her, “You always think I’m a menace.”

“All in good fun, Devs.”

Sorcha shook her head as the pair returned to Thorpe Abbotts, heading to their barracks.

“Please, you’d be lost without me.”

“I’m sure that's true,” Bucky said as they approached Sorcha’s bunk. “Goodnight, Devs.”

“Night Bucky, drink plenty of water tomorrow!” Sorcha called as the man walked away.

As she stepped into her bunk, Sorcha felt a wave of exhaustion crash over her. She knew everyone would feel the repercussions of the night the next day, but all she could focus on was getting a decent night’s rest.

[team5ds]

nothin if not consistent

Summary: "If we for real get haunted on our anniversary, I'm breaking up with you. I'm serious this time."

"You're the one who keeps hanging out with people who believe in ghosts."

Rating: G

Ships: Mai Kujaku/Aileen Rao

Author’s note: written for the prompt of "paranormal investigation" for @sapphic-september

read on ao3 / support me on kofi (battle city & up supporters get early access) / join my discord (18+)

Mai did not believe in ghosts, but Aileen did. And well, she didn't just believe in ghosts: she liked to go ghost hunting. She wasn't sure what Aileen expected to find in the run down houses that she dragged her to, but so far they'd turned up empty at every corner. Was there really any point in continuing to go to these places? Well, somehow she got dragged into planning  a trip to a haunted mansion for their anniversary. "If we for real get haunted on our anniversary, I'm breaking up with you," Mai deadpanned as Aileen went over their bags. "I'm serious this time. Bad enough Yugi keeps telling us about how he was possessed for a while."

"You're the one who keeps hanging out with people who believe in ghosts," Aileen retorted with a teasing grin. A sparkle in her eyes - she wasn't taking any of this seriously. "Besides, if we get for real haunted, you owe me."

"What?"

"Remember? You said that if I could prove ghosts were real, you'd owe me," she said, zipping up their suitcases for travel. "And I believe that you said you always pay your debts."

She sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Okay, yeah, I do recall saying something to that effect," she grumbled, remembering how Aileen asked what she'd win if she could prove ghosts were real. Not that she expected this trip to contain any actual haunting. For that to happen, ghosts would have to be real and they weren't. Except for the times they were in those old houses and it felt like something had her hairs standing on the back of her neck... almost like the time she'd passed out after losing at Battle City... and like the big blank missing memory she had from three days that felt like she emerged totally altered. "But since ghosts aren't real, I'm never going to have to pay up."

"If ghosts aren't real, then you have nothing to fear about this new house I want to explore," she teased, hopping into bed with her. "They say it's haunted by this person who had been killed."

A vengeful ghost. Not exactly Mai's idea of a fun time, but well... Aileen was right. Ghosts weren't real and they certainly weren't going to interrupt their nice day. "Fine," Mai said with a roll of her eyes. "But I'm telling you now: I'm not going to owe you anything but a good time. Let's go."

[cittielinks]

In a world where dungeons and hunters alike are slowly emerging, It never came as a surprise that a special department with regards to dealing with such phenomena came into existence as well.

No one would want to work with administrative force when you could be a hero, not Kim Dokja. 

When he found out he was a mere F-class hunter, he gave up on dreaming of becoming one of the greatest hunters in the world. Besides, he hated pain anyway, so he did the second best thing, which was working under the special branch of specializing dungeons. 

When he quit his old job and started working in the department, he was surprised to see no less than seven workers, including him! 

A disaster. 

He was then told by his supervisor, Aileen, that no one wanted to work here all because being a hunter was far more cooler. Kim Dokja clicked his tongue. People these days do not realize that they cannot even go to a dungeon without a specialist like them. He vowed that he would make his department the strongest! 

Now, in the present, Everyone has realized that they cannot enter the dungeon without the permission of the DoDS, nor will they be given pointers on how to survive the dungeon as well. Every since Kim Dokja came and straightened their sad excuse of a deartment, all of the higher ranking tried to get their good side. Jang Hayoung giggled whenever they saw someone beg Aileen or Kim Dokja to let them have a permit to enter. 

Such power really is the best!

“Boss! "Mark greeted

“The leader of the Supreme will be meeting you today regarding about acquiring a permit to be the first group of hunters to enter the new S-class Dungeon in BBusan,"he added.

Kim Dokja groans as he rubs his forehead. 

“For the last time, I am not the boss, Mark! Aileen’s the boss.” 

“She’s currently on vacation! You’re the acting supervisor right now anyway," Mark snickered. 

“Hyung, members of the Judgement as well as the Constellation and Prophecy will be coming here as well," Han Donghoon reminded. The clicks of his keyboard never cease.

“Fuck! It was today?!?"Kim Dokja cursed, feeling another headache coming. 

"Oof." Jang Hayoung stared at their boss with pity. 

Kim Dokja stood up and stared at his colleagues. He was about to call when Lee Hakyun barged into the office, seemingly frightened.

“D-Dokja-yah. The leaders are here–” Lee Hakhyun gulped when he felt glares coming from behind his back. 

“Kill me instead,” Kim Dokja said to no one in particular. 

So here he was in the conference room with Han Donghoon, surrounded by the best hunters in, most probably, the whole world. 

Yoo Joonghyuk, S-class. Attribute: multi. As well as the leader of Supreme along with Kim Namwoon, A-class hunter. A fire attribute. 

Jung Heewon, S-class. Water attribute and the leader of Judgement. 

Uriel, S-class. a purification attribute and a member of the Constellation. 

Lastly, Anna Croft, Unknown Attribute, S Class, is the leader of Prophecy. 

Kim Dokja wanted to just melt and be dead until this meeting ended. He beckoned Kim Namwoon to get Han Donghoon away from the conference room. The man grinned and dragged the poor man out of the room. He sighed. 

“It’s been awhile, Dokja-ssi! "Uriel greeted! As always, seeing Uriel smile is the best, he thought. 

“It’s been awhile, Uriel-ssi! I thought Plotter would be coming here," he asked. 

“Call me noona! "She huffs. 

“Uriel-ss– noona.” 

“Good! Well, that guy is taking care of his forest or something. He told me to tell you that he would be visiting at a later date or something.” 

Before Kim Dokja could reply, A loud bang from Yoo Joonghyuk’s side was heard. He frowned as he was about to scold him. Anna Croft beat him to it. 

“Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi should refrain from breaking Mr. Dokja’s stuff lest you won’t be giving priority over the dungeon," she said, her blonde hair simply swaying by the power outburst of the man. 

“Even if you guys are exes, you should give basic respect to other people. Ah, but you don’t even know that–” 

“N-now! Now! Let’s hold our horses.” Jung Heewon tried to calmly settle everyone. 

Everyone started to argue with each other, even as going as far as using their abilities. 

Luckily, his F-class body has such a special nullification that even if people, no matter their class, tried to oppress him, they could not do so because of his somewhat cooler ability. 

Luckily, he had asked Kim Namwoon to drag Han Donghoon out, or else it could be worse. 

“Everyone, calm down.” 

Inside the room filled with the greatest hunters, everyone froze. 

Kim Dokja sighed, and almost everyone was jolted by the sudden action. 

He then dragged his eyes to everyone inside the room. 

“I refuse to speak to ALL of you right now. So get out.” His voice doesn’t have a speck of emotion. If any of his employees would have seen this type of situation, They would run out. They refuse to experience the devil! 

“Out NOW! ” 

Slowly, everyone went out dejected; only Yoo Joonghyuk left. 

“Kim Dokja. Can we talk? "He asked softly. There was distance between the two of them.

“No.”

“Just for 5 minutes. Let’s talk about us.” 

Kim Dokja glared at the man. 

“No! We broke up, Yoo Joonghyuk, remember that? You were the one who broke up with me because you wanted to be a S-class hunter. Not me. So get out. I don’t want to talk to you.” 

“Kim Dokja..” 

“...”

Yoo Joonghyuk sighed and stared at Kim Dokja for a second, and then he left. He did no forget to drag Kim Namwoon with him. 

Once Kim Dokja was sure the man was gone. He slumped in his seat. 

What a tiring day!

[ssjumi]

It's been literally 20 years since I wrote the YGO fic that to some regard still defines how I view my favorite OC babygirl Aileen to this day 💕✨

So this is a gift for teenage me, who would've probably pretended to be too cool to care, but would have absolutely lost her shit seeing our girl in the style of the show (ﾉ◕ヮ��)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

For those curious, here's a little (updated) character profile of Aileen:

Aileen Noda

18yo (half a year older than Seto, so a class ahead of him)

🇯🇵 (dad), 🇮🇹 (mom)

her dad got sole custody after her parents (never married) split; she's not close to her mom but they're on friendly speaking terms

—

heiress to a multimillion dollar software company that was in business negotiations with the Kaiba Corporation at some point when it was still headed by Gozaburo

moved around a lot as a kid before spending her tweens and most of her teenage years in South England, when business took them there

fluent in English and Japanese (although a bit rusty when it comes to not sounding too direct/impolite with latter) - had one year of German and almost three years of Mandarin before moving schools - knows just enough Italian to survive as a casual tourist

not rly interested in daddy's business at the time/shortly before our story, but figures she still has many years to live her own life and find her passions before she has to step up anyway

(spoiler alert: nope, she does not)

—

has a driver's license and drives just well enough to not get it revoked but not so well that it's a joy to sit next to her

pretty pragmatic with a dry humor

comes off as very confident and independent

loses her dad tho shortly after they've moved to Domino and went into new negotiations with the KC, which rly fucks her up since she hasn't made any friends there yet and her dad was basically her entire support system, which she never realized until he was gone

develops a socially encouraged kind of unhealthy relationship to food and working out, which is not helped by the smaller sizes considered standard in Japan

—

for some reason falls for Seto Kaiba of all people and even ends up with him unaware that she could do a lot better but alas, who am i to tell my daughter No

A while ago I gave rewriting the earlier mentioned fanfic a try, but since YGO isn't my active main fandom anymore, I'll probably never finish it and if I do, it will have a very different format than the original story.

But since we're already in Long As Fuck Read More territory, I've included the prologue and another tiny snippet here, for those who are curious:

Surprising as it may seem, given how his face is plastered all over the city they live in, Yugi and his friends don't really think much about Seto Kaiba in their everyday lives.

They're doing their thing and he does his. … Whatever his thing is.

Building theme parks probably? Yugi remembers him mentioning something like this the last time they spoke but he's not sure anymore. The fact that Kaiba's been gracing class with his presence for the past few days probably means that things are going well enough for him to have the spare time. Although he's spending most of that time on his laptop anyway, not participating in class at all and left alone by the teachers as well.

No, really. Neither Yugi nor his friends know what Kaiba's thing actually is.

So they're a little surprised when after class, during cleaning duty, a girl in another school's uniform slips through the door and makes a beeline for the desk in the far corner of the room where Kaiba, true to his famous team spirit, is still fully focused on his personal work instead of helping his classmates.

One of her long, black pigtails slips over her shoulder as she snatches a glance at his laptop screen. To which Kaiba just reacts by closing said laptop and shoving it into his schoolbag. Which in turn puts a slightly too sweet, almost teasing smile onto her lips. "Want me to give you a ride home?" He sighs and mumbles something that sounds a lot like "There are worse ways to die, I guess" before getting up and following her outside.

It finally becomes apparent why a few of the guys in the class have spent the past couple minutes at the window - the car Kaiba follows that stranger to is a red Porsche cabriolet that looks like right out of a Hollywood movie.

Jounouchi doesn't know what to be more scandalized about - that Kaiba of all people is getting picked up by a cute girl while he doesn't or that some of his female classmates seem completely unimpressed by all of this because "everyone knows he has a girlfriend, duh". He and his friends exchange confused glances.

Seto Kaiba is weird in occasionally dangerous but usually just a little annoying ways and overall just not that interesting. And, as far as they're aware, he's also completely uninterested in making friends or even just understanding the basic concept of friendship - or interpersonal relationships in general.

And yet.

Seto Kaiba has a girlfriend.

It went like this:

A girl had a friend who wasn't allowed to have friends, who wasn't even allowed to have a brother. But allowing him to spend time with her made her father more agreeable in business negotiations which in turn worked in favor of her friend's father. So he grudgingly allowed it for the duration of their business meetings.

Truth be told, it was a pretty one-sided friendship.

Her friend had already started to shut himself off from the world by the time she met him. He didn't start or even push forward conversations on his own accord, didn't answer most of her questions and didn't seem to have many, well, any hobbies. He was easy to taunt though, almost always falling for her dares, never willing to accept defeat and pretty blind to the fact that she usually didn't care who won - that ultimately, by the virtue of having gotten him to interact with her, she was the actual winner anyway.

It was a short friendship, lasting only a couple of weeks, and as soon as the grownups had concluded their business it was over again.

If you're still here: Congrats! You earned yourself the secret knowledge that this fic by the way isn't just Seto/OC but also YamiYugi/Seto, as in: Seto is gonna cheat on her with Atem, as soon as he finds out that he can not just play intense card games with the guy but also have sex with him - which never even occured to him until he already had Ati's hand between his legs.

Aileen will break up with him over it.

In the timeline of the original fic from 20 years ago they did end up back together and even marrying though and it wasn't even too bad for a while but became a very unhappy relationship over time, during which she fell for (and had one passionate night with) Seto's assistant Isono. She got pregnant from him and Seto is kind of aware that it is likely not his child and she knows that he probably knows... while Isono tries very hard to tell himself that this kid surely can't be his, nope, no evidence of this one night means it never happened and he never wavered in his loyalty to his Kaiba-sama, it's fine, he's fine, they're all fine.

(It's still mostly him raising the child since Aileen soon realizes she has no idea where exactly to fit a child into her life and Seto... to his credit did manage to not have Mokuba die on him while responsible for him in his teen years, but if we're all honest here that was not by virtue of him being a responsible and trustworthy parental figure.)

I haven't made up my mind yet if Aileen and Seto would also end up married in/after the rewritten fic tho.

Who knows.

Not me.

... Ah, yeah, and I also ship her with Ryou Bakura's dead sister Amane :D so there's that as well.

Anyway.

YAY @ drawing of her I'm very very very satisfied with （￣︶￣）✨💖

[super-unpredictable98]

Comes in Waves (The Clinic AU)

Pairing: Shane x Reader

Word Count: 990

Warning: Strong language, needles

a/n: NEW CHARACTER ALERT! It took me a while to bring you guys someone new, but here he is. Keeping my promise to write for all of Rob's characters at least once, here's Shane who stole our hearts in only a little over 6 minutes.

(Masterlist)

"Hey, do you have zinc left?" A voice behind you called.

"Yeah, pick a colour," you chuckled, pointing at your backpack while you carefully waxed your board.

Shane wasn't a stranger, but he also wasn't exactly your friend. He was more like an acquaintance, you bumped into each other sometimes at the Aileens and maybe talked for a minute or two, but so far that was it.

He was a nice guy, weirdly strong for how skinny he looked, and although his hair was definitely influenced by 2000s emo boy bands, he wasn't bad looking. In fact, you caught yourself looking forward to seeing him at times, not that you ever said anything.

"Oh shit…" Shane muttered, seeing the time on your phone when he tried to find the zinc.

"Everything okay?" You asked, suddenly worried he saw something you didn't even know you had in your bag. Your mind went through the endless possibilities from used condoms to dead rat, from bloody pads to human remains, maybe drugs or a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey.

"I forgot to take my insulin," he sighed, grabbing his own backpack to check if he even brought it.

"You're diabetic?" You mused. You felt stupid for not knowing, but it's not like the subject would've come up in conversation between you two.

"Mmhm," he nodded, taking the pen injector out and smiling. "Oh thank God I don't have to go all the way back home."

Although he seemed relieved to have found the medication, his face also clearly let his worry show. Even after a couple years of his diagnosis, Shane still wasn't so good at injecting himself and he was still quite scared of needles, which left him embarrassed whenever he had to do it in public.

He scrunched up his nose and looked at the applicator as if considering if that was a good idea or if he should just go home and ask for his mother's help again. On a good day, it took him about fifteen minutes just to get the nerve to do it, but he was already past his time and truly didn't wanna seem like a wimp in front of you.

"What is it?" You finally asked.

"Um… nothing."

"Are you scared?"

"I'm just not a fan of needles, that's all," Shane chuckled nervously, trying to sound as chill as possible.

You wanted to smile, it was adorable the way his voice faltered a little and how he tried to seem so nonchalant about the whole thing when he was clearly shaking like a leaf.

"You know, my little sister is diabetic, I've done this for her a few times, do you want me to try?" You offered without even thinking first. You were not that intimate, but somehow you just couldn't watch him struggle and do nothing about it.

"Really? Would you?" His face lit up.

"Yeah, no problem," you assured.

When he turned around for you to unzip his suit though, then you realized what you were doing and all the blood rushed to your face. You reached for the zipper and slowly pulled it down, exposing his back and his (quite nice) shoulders.

He pulled the suit off and you were able to see the lean muscles on his arms, the discreet treasure trail that started on his navel, and the adorable mole he had near his collarbone.

"Everything alright?" He asked this time noticing how you were paralyzed just staring.

"S-sure, sorry, I was just trying to remember if I locked the door when I left," you spewed the first bullshit excuse that popped into your head. "Can I do it?"

"Please," he set the right dosage and handed you the injector along with the little disinfectant tissue to clean the area before.

"Alright, look at me, don't focus on that," you instructed as you carefully wiped a spot on the side of his stomach. "When did you start surfing, Shane?"

"Well, I-" he flinched when he felt the needle approaching his skin, pulling away from you and almost making you laugh. "Sorry, I'll stay still."

"It's okay, just focus on the story," you encouraged, moving as fast as you could while still trying to do things swiftly enough for him not to notice.

"I started when I was ten, I saw Green Iguana and really wanted to do it myself," Shane started, not even realizing as you punctured his skin and pressed the top. "I didn't have lessons or anything, I just borrowed my mate's board and watched lots of videos for beginners, he helped me a little too…"

"All done," you put the cover back on the pen and gave it back to him. "But I'd love to hear more about how you started."

"Jesus, you really are good at that!" He gasped, looking down at his stomach in awe. "How did you do it so fast?"

"A magician never reveals their tricks," you teased. "Besides, if I tell you, you'll never ask me to do it again."

"Do it again?" Shane repeated, a little puzzled by the suggestion.

"Come on, the waves are looking great right now," you took your board before he could think more about the implications of what you just said.

"Wait! Wait, you really don't mind doing this for me?" Shane asked, taking his board as well and following you to the ocean.

You shook your head, involuntarily letting your eyes linger a little too long on his naked chest, which certainly made you blush once again.

"How about I thank you?" He finally seemed to understand why you were so flustered every time you two met and he had to admit he also felt that way. "We can grab something to eat on the way back, my treat."

"I'll think about it," you smirked before taking off and jumping in the water. "But you'll have to catch me first!"

Tag List: @elliethesuperfruitlover @salvador-daley @seanfalco @firstpersonnarrator

[awkwardcourage]

[ rainfall ] sender finds receiver out alone in the rain | @supetoons

This was one of those times where it would really help if Hughie wasn't over six foot. He didn't look intimidating, except in this very situation when he was trying to hitch a lift. Hitchhiking had gone out of fashion around the same time that hippies were starting to sober up from their 'free love' trip. People didn't really hitchhike any more and people serial killers like Ed Kemper and Aileen Wurnos had sewn into the American subconscious the idea that hitchhiking would get somebody killed.

Hughie was hoping that the rain and the fact that he looked like a drowned dog would work in his favour, but every single driver that had driven past hadn't even given him so much as a glance. He was beginning to get cold. The rain wasn't letting up and his clothes were starting to stick to his skin.

As yet another car drove past him, Hughie sighed and dropped his arm. He trudged over the outskirts of some wilderness, a near forest by the side of the road. He leaned against the bark of a tree that offered some shelter from the downpour and sighed. He was beginning to wonder whether he should just try walking along the road, in hops that civilsation would emerge on his travels, when-

"Jesus!" Hughie violently floundered away from the tree as Black Noir emerged at his side, seemingly out of nowhere. His godly status as a ninja remained intact. Hughie hadn't heard a thing. "Holy fuck... Noir... hey, what... where the fuck did you even come from?!"

[dreamyyesenia]

Always Keep Simming - Colin making new acquaintances…

Colin couldn’t wait any longer. He decided to travel to the Realm of Magic in the middle of the night and follow the summoning.

As soon as he arrived in Glimmerbrook, he was stuck in a heated magical duel 🫠 Colin lost the duel but the witch let him go thankfully. Seemed like the rumours about him and his involvement with his grandmother were worse than he thought!

Colin tried to sneak around the magical Headquarters as quickly and as quietly as possible…

At the Gardens in the Realm of Magic, he met Deanna Colton, the new sage of practical magic. And, seemingly, his future wife.

⬇️ Full Story below

Colin Blackburn tossed and turned at night. It was the night before New Year’s Eve. He just couldn’t sleep, no matter what he did. He was restless. His grandmother Jenna Blackburn, the master sage of the Realm of Magic, had summoned him to meet her right away, along with the sage of practical magic. „If you come to me right now, I will not infiltrate your house. I will not touch your family. This is my peaceful attempt. I’m sorry for what I put you through. Call it an old crow’s educational methods. I just want the best for you, grandson. - Jenna Blackburn, your loving grandmother“ the note had sead. An owl had delivered it to his house shortly before midnight. Delilah had alarmed him but thankfully Aileen and the others had already been asked… Colin was conflicted. He didn’t trust his grandmother’s words one bit but he also wanted to prevent a fight at all costs. Though they had assembled quite a few people to help them, they hadn’t planned to act right now. But Colin was afraid of his grandmother would come to his house personally. The specters were guarding them, but they were powerless against a sage of magic. Colin felt like he had to go by himself rather than risking his family’s safety. Thus, he left a note for Aileen and took the jewelry she had crafted him out of their boxes. They made him feel safe, at least. He had let them charge under the moon for a few hours, so that their power was strongest. As quietly as he could, he left Willow Creek and used “Transportapalate” to get someplace near to Glimmerbrook. Then, he’d have to travel by broom.

However, upon arriving at the Glimmerbrook tavern, he was met with an angry witch. In fact, it was Raven’s mother! The spell hit Colin before his feet were properly on the ground and he had to shift to defence immediately.

“Madam Nerwada, I’m your son’s friend. You’re making a mist-“ He had to block another spell before he could finish explaining himself. The red haired witch was furious. She yelled “No son of mine would be seen with a disgrace such as you. Your parents would be so ashamed of you, boy!” Colin ducked and turned and tried to defend himself without harming her. “Please, you got it wrong. I’m on your side! I’m not-“ “The puppet of that crazy granny of yours? Hah, tell me, why did you come here? Who are you going to poison next? Stupid boy!”, she shouted and the next strike was so strong that Colin fell to the ground. The witch said, now in a more quiet but just as angry tone: “Go to the Headquarters and see for yourself what you’ve done. Murderer. We’re all doomed because of you.” “I’m going to beat her. She was holding me hostage. I’m gonna make everything right, I promise”, Colin reassured her, still lieing on the ground and breathing heavily. The witch shook her head and only said “Don’t expect me to believe anything that comes out of your mouth. The practical sage was our strongest weapon against her.” „I’m gonna make it right. Ask Raven, we’ve planned everything together!” Colin didn’t know what else to say to make her believe. Thankfully, the witch was called to the tavern at that moment. Would she call her friends to finish him together? She sighed loudly. “I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt. Don’t make me regret it.” She then turned around and vanished into the tabern without looking back.

Exhausted, Colin got up, panting. “That went well…”, he murmured to himself. Before anyone else could recognize him, he traveled to the Realm of Magic. It was the middle of the night, so no one was to be seen. Quietly, he tried to sneak around the Headquarters until he arrived at his destination.

“You came. Good”, a warm voice came from the trees. He turned around so rapidly that it caused his head to spin. A small chuckle came from the darkness. “Oh come ooon… and I thought the Blackburn heir was brave.”

Colin stepped closer until he could make out a figure standing in the shadows of the lemon trees.

“Hi”, he said, nodding. “I came. Where’s my grandmother?”

The figure stepped into the light. A beautiful young woman with dark hair and sparkling eyes came into view.

“She’s occupied. Let’s talk about what we’re going to do about her”, she replied.

Colin was confused. “What do you mean?”, he asked.

The sage smirked. “I propose, we blast that bitch apart. And then feed her to a cowplant.” She smiled wickedly.

Colin exhaled audibly, relieved. Was she on their side? He smiled back tentatively.

“Nice to meet you, new sage. I’m Colin, glad to know you’re on my side”, he introduced himself.

“I’m Deanna. Your fiancé, of course I’m on your side!”, she patted his shoulder and laughed when Colin grimaced.

“Relaax, you’re not my type anyway”, Deanna winked. “Now, let me teach you some powerful spells”, Deanna proposed and the two of them started a long night of training together.