#GREAT question and if anyone else wants to chime in i would love to see other people's answers!

[captainjonnitkessler]

If Deadloch gets a second season what do you hope will happen in it?

I'd really like to see the Bushy murder investigation! I imagine it being something of a reversal of the first season - first season was focused on Dulcie's life and featured a big-city detective in a small town, second season would focus on Eddie's life and feature a small-town detective in a big city.

I also think it would focus more on corruption and incompetence in the police - I can't remember if it was actually implied that Bushy was shot by a fellow cop or if that was just a theory I had but I stand by it. So I think it would be interesting to see the investigation turn inwards, and that would keep the first season's murder-mystery "everyone is a suspect" vibe while being different enough to not just be a rehash.

[kissitbttr]

ANA! ANA MY LUV!! idk much about miguel (a travesty i knoeww) but i saw ur fratboy post n now i cant stop drooling at the idea of fratboy!miguel introducing u to his frat buddies!! being so possessive: holding ur waist or pulling u to his lap; kissing ur neck even when his friends are right there. oh my goddd im gonna sob hes so!!!

SUNNY?! I AM BITING MY FIST OMG HE’D SOOO FREAKING POSSESSIVE UGH I LOVE IT WHEN YOU ARE RIGHT

bby you HAVE to hop on the miguel simp train!! HE IS SO FINEEEE😩😩

-

it was around after the third date when miguel nervously asked you to come to the frat house to meet his brothers. he didn’t want to overwhelm you of course, he knew how annoying and pushy his brothers could be but still, he would love for them to get to know you just as he had when he was with you,

you saw how nervous he got, but you assured him by squeezing his hand and telling him that you were okay with that. he smiled in return, kissing you softly on the lips as a thank you,

“i never express any gratitude towards anyone in my life except my parents but i want to thank you so much for finally saying yes, it was fucking annoying to hear him yapping about you non-stop. all of us had enough of his corny shit”

one of his frat brothers, glen had mentioned. feigning a relief expression while he smirked at miguel who gave him the finger,

“i literally thanked Jesus when i heard him going on a date with you, y/n! you are our life savior”

miguel threw his head back in annoyance, groaning at how his frat brothers continued to spill his secrets. but you giggled instead, looking over at him who avoided your gaze out of pure embarrassment.

“what else did he do?”

miguel shot you a warning look, “don’t encourage them, muñeca! they’d go all the way out!”

“oh believe me, we have many” beck had answered, playfully snickering at the amount of times miguel had ranted about you. “which one do you want to hear? one where he talked about you while he was high? or one where it was late at night—“

“fuck off, kingsley!” miguel had interrupted before he got too far, in which beck put his hands up in defense.

miguel snaked his arm around your waist, giving your hip three taps to prompt you to sit on his lap which you obliged.

you happily plopped yourself down on one of his thick thighs. he helped you with shifting your body into a comfortable position with your legs crossed.

the rest of the boys sat in the living room, piling in the same area as they all stared at the two of you. millions of questions running through their minds, desperate to know if miguel somehow blackmailed you into agreeing to go out on a date with him or something worse,

miguel sensed the stares from his brothers and, to be frank, it was quite uncomfortable. though he knew for sure they wanted to know the same thing.

“are you guys wondering how i got to take her out or what?”

they all responded with a ‘yes’ in unison, making him rub his temple and you smiled

“so? what did he do, y/n? because i’m starting to think this is a joke”

“could be. i mean, carlos went all 110% for a girl when she rejected his offer the first time” glen shrugged, earning a frown from carlos himself,

“i did not—“

“yes you did. you stood outside of the campus library with a boombox over your head” one boy chimed in while sipping his beer,

“okay see, i was—“

“oh! and remember when he threatened to pull his—“

“shut the fuck up! focus! we’re not here for me but for them!” carlos gestured his hand at both miguel and you. “can we leave my shit behind? that would be great”

carlos's cheeks went beet red as the other guys teased him for it, beck patted him on the back and told him that it was nothing to be ashamed of but carlos only swatted his hand away,

you found it so endearing at how the frat guys were so playful and funny with each other. typical boys will be boys type of thing. they were definitely far more different than when you see them during parties,

“well to be honest, he really didn’t have to do anything” you simply replied, tucking a hair behind your ear. “but definitely persistent, in the most politest way and less creepier though”

“you saying what i did was creepy?” carlos pointed at himself with a defeated look,

“i mean, if you had to ask then yeah”

the rest erupted in a peal of loud laughter while carlos’s shoulders slouched. propping his back against the chair with his arms crossed, a chorus of ‘see?’ and ‘i told you so’s’ made you laugh,

miguel settled his elbow on the armrest, eyes glinted with adoration whilst his mouth stretched into a lovesick grin. he watched how you managed to pull joy out of them and there’s nothing he’s appreciated more than that,

the way you threw your head back as another cute giggle escaped you while holding onto his shoulder for balance was enough to make his heart ponder,

“man, you’ve got wicked sense of humor, y/n—say if shit went sideways between the two of you, just know I’m available”

miguel frowned upon hearing that as his nose scrunched up in disgust as he leapt the nearest pillow at his brother’s direction for that comment. he wrapped his arm around your waist far more protectively,

“watch it” he warned, glaring at him. he knew it was a joke but he still didn’t like how that sounded, “i’ll kick your fucking ass, monty”

upon seeing that, your hand moved to find his cheek, lightly tapping his chin with your finger to get him to look at you,

“easy there, big boy” your words soothed him in seconds, especially when he heard his favorite nickname leaving your mouth, "I'm with you"

the confirmation made him giddy and his heart blossomed,

he moved dangerously close to your ear to whisper before kissing the back of it making you giggle. “you look so pretty tonight, muñeca” miguel dragged his fingertips up and down your exposed thigh, then squeezed the soft flesh. “so so pretty— do i get to see you in this dress more often?”

the question came off too excited despite his best trying to hide it, again, if there was nobody around, he'd actually take you right there and then.

you smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck. “but I thought you like me better when i’m naked?”

“oh there’s no doubt about that, mi amor” he winked with a chuckle, “am i… about to get lucky tonight?”

“you might” a seductive response laced on your tone, winking at him as he squeezed your waist before

the boys let out a couple of groans and fake puking sounds at the sight, but the two of you remained still in your element,

''you guys make me sick" glen protested, shaking his head before getting up from the chair to walk away but you caught a small smile on his face,

"jealous you don't have a girlfriend, mayback?" miguel teased at him, glen only threw him the middle finger before cracking another can of beer from the kitchen,

the rest of the boys followed his actions after, not before congratulating miguel on scoring with you.

the word girlfriend made you bulldozed, eyes darted toward his smiling proud face before yours stretched into one as well,

"i'm your girlfriend?"

his smile faltered after he soon realized what he had just called you, he swallowed a nervous gulp. opening and closing his mouth because he was unsure what to say

you must admit you enjoyed seeing him like that.

"well i-i mean--i wasn't--surely you were--uh--what was the question again?"

you tucked your lower lip in between your teeth, head tilting to the side as the adorable man in front of you became a stuttering mess.

realizing that he is on the edge of a nervous breakdown, you leaned closer to his face before smashing your lips against his. his body went still by your action, but soon found himself lost in your kiss and sighed out of contentment,

you pulled away after a few seconds, tousling his soft chocolate hair before replying,

''i would love to be your girl, o'hara''

-

please please PLEASE tell me this is good!! i was writing this in the car and I couldn’t concentrate for a second because people were honking too much!! bhhshshs

[tevanavernus]

bucktommy + early in their relationship + the very first time buck gets to say "i can teach you" to tommy

thanks for requesting, hope you like it! :)

Tommy was so cool. That was the thought that kept running through Buck's head, even two months into their official relationship. The man was a pilot, he tinkered with cars, knew Muay Thai, went to trivia nights, liked monster trucks, and—much to Buck's amusement—watched all the trashy, over-the-top romance movies. It didn't matter how many times Buck glanced at him or thought about him—he couldn't stop that giddy feeling from bubbling up inside him.

The thing was, Tommy didn't keep it to himself, didn't brush off his skills or downplay his interests. If anything it seemed like he wanted to share it with Buck. Back when Buck was desperate for Tommy to pay attention to him and their conversation briefly turned to flying lessons, and later to Muay Thai, Buck didn't look into it more than having excuses to see Tommy again.

Yet, Tommy stuck by his words, and a few weeks after their coffee date, Buck found himself sitting in the cockpit of a helicopter, the sun shining and no emergency in sight. The best part wasn't just the thrill of being in the helicopter—it was watching Tommy. If it had been anyone else, Buck would have interjected, asked questions, or shared random facts he'd read online. But with Tommy? His mind was blissfully empty, hanging onto every word as Tommy rattled off information about each button, explaining what it did and when to use it.

The Muay Thai lessons were similar in that respect, even if they were completely unsuccessful in actually teaching Buck anything. But, in Buck's defense, how could anyone concentrate when Tommy was guiding him through stances and moves with those lingering touches to fix his posture—especially when those shorts Tommy wore left very little to the imagination? It was a miracle that Tommy had his own setup at home, because if they'd been in a public gym, Buck might've been facing indecent exposure charges with how distracted he'd gotten.

The point was, Tommy was cool and he was constantly teaching him something new. Which Buck loved. He loved learning from him, loved the way Tommy's eyes would light up when he got to show him the ropes. But every now and then, there was this nagging feeling in the back of Buck's mind—this thought that maybe he didn't bring enough to the table. He wanted to contribute more, to offer something back, something that would make Tommy look at him even half as awe-stricken as Buck felt when he watched Tommy in his element.

But what could he teach him? It's not like Buck could sweep Tommy off his feet with a kiss that unlocked some hidden part of him he didn't know existed. And as far as work went, they both operated in the same field, so it wasn't like Buck had any neat, life-changing trick up his sleeve that Tommy didn't already know.

So Buck might have spiraled a bit. He went down a few rabbit hole researches late at night. At one point, when he felt particularly desperate, he might have typed out 'cool things to teach to impress your boyfriend' into Google. His team was not spared from this spiral either. In fact, they heard all about his thoughts about this important issue whenever they were en route to a call.

"Buck, the guy's with you because he likes you, not because he's looking for a new skillset," Bobby finally chimed in over the headset, putting a stop to yet another rant. "So show him something you like."

That was great advice. Solid advice. Advice that Buck might have... half heard. The part about Tommy liking him for who he was? Yeah, that might have gone over his head. But the bit about showing Tommy something he liked? That could work. He could definitely find something he liked, and it could still be something Tommy didn't know.

The first try was, perhaps, a bit too obvious, but cooking seemed like a fair bet. They hadn't had the chance to enjoy a homemade meal together yet. Most of the time, if their schedules lined up, they'd order takeout or hit a diner for a quick bite. So Buck thought, why not invite Tommy over a little earlier than usual and—just casually—show off his cooking skills in the process? Maybe, if he played his cards right, he could even teach Tommy a thing or two.

His plan came to fruition a week later. It was more than enough time to decide on the meal -with some help from Bobby-, practice… a few times. He was all set. So, with butterflies in his stomach, Buck invited Tommy to the loft one evening and brought him into the kitchen with the excuse that the meal would take a bit longer to prepare.

Tommy took it all in stride. With a glass of wine in hand, he leaned back against the counter by the fridge, slipping easily into conversation about their day. He even complimented how nice the food smelled. Everything was going according to plan.

Until Tommy glanced down at what Buck was doing and gave a small hum.

"You know," Tommy said casually, "if you peel ginger with the edge of a spoon instead of a knife, you'll save more of the flesh."

"Hm? oh, yeah," Buck mumbled absentmindedly before the words fully sank in. He froze mid-peel, eyes widening. "Wait, you know how to cook?"

"Evan," Tommy chuckled, taking another sip. "I might be no Bobby in the kitchen, but I know my way around."

"Oh," Buck grinned, though inwardly he groaned. "That's great!"

Dammit.

The next idea popped into Buck's head was in a middle of a call at a small restaurant-slash-bar. They were there to put out a fire that had broken out in the back when the bar area caught Buck's eye. The shelves lined with bottles and the cocktail shakers sparked a memory. While Tommy often opted for craft beers, who could really say no to a well-made cocktail, right? Buck's mixology days might be long behind him, but he still remembered the basics.

So, Buck found a sleek rooftop bar that hosted cocktail workshops. After a quick chat with the manager—and maybe slipping a few extra bills to ensure they'd get some privacy—he set up their next date.

The date itself was really fun, though Buck found it difficult not to ogle Tommy in his nice button-up shirt, paired with a thin jacket that outlined his biceps all too well. Still, Buck managed to tear his eyes away long enough to actually make the Pisco Sour. He showed off the shaker technique he'd learned back in the day, enjoying the attention Tommy was giving him as he rattled off the steps.

Once Buck finished, he handed the shaker over to Tommy who then measured out the ingredients and glanced at him.

"So like this?" Tommy asked innocently.

Then, to Buck's dismay, he proceeded to replicate the exact shaking technique Buck had just demonstrated. The liquid poured smoothly into the glass, not a drop wasted. Buck watched, feeling a familiar sense of defeat settle in.

"Let me guess—you're also secretly a mixologist?" Buck groaned, half-joking but already knowing the answer wouldn't go his way.

Tommy smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "Nope. But a buddy of mine owns a bar, and he taught me a few things on quieter nights." He shrugged, his smirk widening. "Also, I paid attention to what you did."

Buck couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. "Of course you did."

And just like that, Buck was back to square one. Even worse, he was running out of ideas—fast. He could probably count on one hand the things he could potentially teach Tommy, and two fingers were already down. This was supposed to be easy, right? Just find something he was good at and teach it. But somehow, with Tommy? Impossible. How was he supposed to impress someone who always seemed one step ahead of him?

The next time an idea popped into Buck's head, he hesitated to make it a full-on date. Not because it was particularly difficult or out of their comfort zone, but because Tommy already tinkered with cars, and there was a good chance he knew a thing or two about motorcycles too. As much as Buck would love to rent a couple of bikes and hit the road with nothing but wind and open air, he had a goal in his mind.

"Do you like bikes?" Buck asked casually, after the waitress dropped off their coffees.

They didn't have much time, just enough for a quick coffee at a spot halfway between their stations before their afternoon shifts kicked off.

Tommy paused mid-bite of his cupcake, raising an amused eyebrow. "In what capacity?"

Buck shrugged, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, but his eyes gave him away, fixed on Tommy's face for any sign of interest. "I don't know… riding them?"

Tommy tilted his head, licking a bit of frosting off his finger, his expression thoughtful. "I guess it's alright. I've been on a few before, but I prefer being in the sky."

Buck let out a quiet, defeated hum, taking a sip of his coffee. "Fair."

Tommy gave him a curious glance. "Why? You want to go for a spin or something?"

Buck shrugged again, trying to play it off. "Maybe someday, just a passing thought."

Tommy raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued but didn't press further.

The time it actually happened, Buck didn't plan it. It wasn't even on his mind. They had overlapping 48 hours off, a rarity, Buck was quickly learning as their relationship grew. So they tried to make the most of it, and after Buck casually mentioned how nice it would be to hit the beach, it wasn't long before they had packed up a bag with towels and snacks and hit the road.

Buck was right, the water was unreal.

They found a spot not too far from the water, laid out their towels, and settled in for a lazy day. It wasn't until they were in the water for the second time that Buck noticed a small shack by the shore offering surfboard rentals.

He pointed it out to Tommy who looked at it for a moment. "I'll grab a beer instead. But go on, give me a show, baby."

Buck would have frowned, perhaps even asked questions about Tommy opting out if his mind didn't short-circuit at the nickname.

"Right, yeah. A show. Sure," Buck mumbled, still dazed, but already heading toward the rental shack. If Tommy wanted a show, Buck would give him one.

And the show was given.

It wasn't until Buck was back on shore, collapsing onto the towel with a cold beer in hand, that he remembered the question he'd been meaning to ask.

"So, how come you didn't surf?" Buck asked casually, glancing over at Tommy.

"Never really had the chance, I suppose," Tommy replied, sitting beside him, propped up on his elbows, sunglasses shielding his eyes as he gazed out over the water. "My folks weren't the beach type."

"Yeah, I get that. Mine aren't either," Buck said as he propped himself on his elbows, mimicking Tommy. "I only learned when I hit the road after leaving home. Met a girl who gave me some very... personal lessons."

Tommy chuckled, lifting his sunglasses onto his head to meet Buck's gaze. "Yeah? Must've been nice."

"I can teach you," a smug grin spread across his face as the idea formed. And if that grin turned a little more teasing, well, he couldn't help it.

"Yeah?" Tommy raised an eyebrow, already sensing where this was going.

"My fees are very competitive," Buck added with a shit-eating smirk, holding back a laugh when Tommy gave him a playful shove.

"Yeah, I walked right into that one, didn't I?" Tommy chuckled, rolling his eyes, though his smile didn't fade.

"Mhm," Buck hummed, standing up and turning to offer Tommy his hand. "Let's go."

"Wait, now?" Tommy asked, his expression turning skeptical as he hesitated, glancing toward the water.

"No time like the present," Buck grinned. "Besides, the waves are perfect right now."

With a dramatic sigh, Tommy took Buck's hand and let himself be pulled up from his seat. "Alright, alright, But just so you know, if I end up embarrassing myself, you're the one getting dunked in the water."

Buck laughed, already imagining the inevitable splash. "Deal."

[vitiligo-is-not-a-trend]

Hello!! How are you? I’m a writer and I’d like to incorporate someone with vitiligo into my story, however, I don't know much, which is kind of a problem seeing as I want to be sensitive to the community. Would you be so kind as to tell me some things you do/don't want to see in characters that have vitiligo? Thank you so much!

Hi! Im good thanks for asking, hope you're also doing well!

That's a wonderful question! Before I start I'm just gonna say these are my views on the subject so if anyone else with vitiligo wants to chime in please do so! I'm probably gonna miss a few things!

Let's start with the donts first, and I very much appreciate the fact that you also asked for dos!

I think one of the more a major issues I see around vitiligo have to do with the way in which it's designed. I've made a few posts about it in the past with more details, I think theyre tagged under "character design( tips)". So doing things like making repeated shape patterns like hearts or animal prints or like skulls or whatever is Not Great. This includes making humanized versions of animals. Like recently for the new Puss in Boots movie a lot of people were drawing Kitty Softpaws as a human with vitiligo, and that just...does not feel great lmao. I am aware that things like that don't come from malice but it feels like being compared to an animal in a way.

Another issue I've seen is when it comes to how the character developed vitiligo it happened due to some curse or magic or (demonic) possession something along those lines. This is also a very bad idea, seeing as it's basically demonizing the condition.

Vitiligo is also complicated when it comes to its genetic. There are working theories/plausible explanations for how it occurs but there are a lot of varying factors. However, it is NOT passed down genetically (to an extent) so having a child does NOT mean that you're character's child will also have the condition. It is also not something you get get at birth/in the womb.

Don't change the coloration of it! Vitiligo is DEFINED as a lack of pigmentation, not a change in it, so you can't have characters walking around with pink and patches. You could make an argument with yellow if its for legos I guess but unless you're drawing every white person lego as that neon yellow I'd avoid it still.

Don't only give it your characters of color!! Especially if you only have a few! I feel like this is something I see frequently unfortunately, but having a character with vitiligo or albinism or pibaldism or whatever doesnt make a character less or more of one race or another. I saw a post where someone said it's "curing POC" so....yeah big yikes. I know because it's not as visible on white people some people dont think they can have it, and it doesnt get used frequently in examples which doesnt really help so yeah.

Also try not to make them a villian especially if theyre the only character with vitiligo

As for the Dos:

I'd love to see a character embrace this aspect of themselves. I know a lot of people and for a very long time myself include feel a sense of shame about it. It took me years to get to a point where I feel comfortable let alone happy about having it.

I'd love to see another character comment on it with a compliment, and have the majority of other characters reacting positively and/or neutrally towards its.

However this is technically a disability and there are people out there that do make fun of people for having it so maybe lightly touching on that would also be a good idea. if you don't feel comfortable out-right writing a scene like that, mentioning things in passing like "oh yeah I got bullied for it when I was younger" or "I actually used to cover it up with clothes and makeup" are good ideas.

Having your character also be aware of things like the time and UV index and whether or not they have sunscreen on is also important. Vitiligo is essentially the lack of melanin, which means that there's no real natural defense against sun exposure at play so being sensitive/aware of these things is a good idea especially if they're fairly new to the condition.

Maybe there's another character that also has vitiligo present in at least some aspect. Whether its just some person that your character looks up to and doesn't know personally, but knowing that they have it makes them feel better about themselves. For me this was Michael Jackson!

This is technically kind of a dont but vitiligo spots are very different depending on the variation that a person has! Spots seem to have a relatively slow progression and, as I mentioned, depending on variation, might not progress at all past certain areas. So if the character has a more progressing variation like Universal or Segmental maybe another character can note that a patch or few have gotten larger since they've last saw them especially if its been awhile and not like last moth.

That's all I can really think of as of now, but I'll reblog this if I think of anything else to add!

[horrorscoupes]

im supposed to be writing a term paper rn but instead im gonna explain why regulus’ listener does not need a dedicated name because ive been pondering it for like. a year

cw: the usual dehumanizing/demeaning/manipulative/etc regulus shit 👍

the biggest and most overarching theme of regulus’ storyline is and always has been a comparison of love and obsession/possessiveness, especially now that we’ve gotten some extra info on the guy they were seeing before regulus came back from the slammer. obviously there is something so incredibly wrong with him- both because he’s Like That but also because in a patreon stream erik said smth to the effect of “oh just wait until you see how he ended up like that” which to me means that something either deeply traumatizing or catastrophic led to regulus being the mangy beast he is today. <- this is supported (in my opinion) by how rampantly insecure he is shown throughout all of his videos, most noticeably in the beginning when he’s vulnerable about how he’s been lonely too (“I don’t want you to be nervous when you’re with me. I want you to feel safe. At home. Because that’s how you make me feel. You make me feel so warm inside. It’s been a very long time since I felt that way.” [Yandere Invisible Man Makes You His Forever (11:10)]). that quote among many others lends to the theory and idea that something happened to him/one of his charges/etc that irreparably affected his ability to maintain healthy boundaries. all of that is obvious tho.

i think that regulus choosing his listener as his charge (as opposed to being assigned to them as ive seen some people on here say)(“I believe they were not his official charge, but he has now kind of taken them on as an unofficial one… …They were not his-- they were never an official charge of his, but, y’know they are… He would now consider them a charge. I don’t know that they would agree.” Working on the Train Model and Hanging Out (2:34:00)) was very deliberate, since it’s very clear that for as long as he was in their house the first time, no one was overwhelmingly worried about their absence from the outside world. that isn’t to say that no one was worried at all, we still don't know how he got caught, but it’s obvious that his preying on them had to do with their predisposed social isolation. this is clear to me because he watched them for a great deal of time before he ever intervened. 

before i get to the main point i also want to chime in on the ever present discourse of how he managed not to starve to death. in my opinion, there are two equally likely scenarios for his first stint with them, with one being far more likely for the second stint. his listener had close to no mental strength before him, and certainly did have much during his stay with them, so there’s no particular evidence that could prove he Never Ever put them to sleep (or just left them magically paralyzed) and left to filter feed out in the real world for a bit. i don’t know how likely that is after he got out of prison, but i don’t think it’s entirely out of the question. the second, probably more likely, possibility is that after days/weeks/months of nonstop love-bombing, physical affection, and manipulating regulus’ listener Did enjoy being with him. not in a conscious or happy sort of way, but by way of their body and brain reacting positively to his presence. when you don’t have anyone else, even an abuser can be a point of relief.

FINALLY onto the topic that i started word-vomiting over in the first place. i think that the most articulate and correct way to refer to them is as “regulus’ listener” for one very specific reason. i think that they are purposefully nameless. he doesnt call them by petnames or by their actual name because they don’t need it. they are not a person to him, they are a possession. he wrote over their memories of their boyfriend, wiping away the way him calling them “sweetie” made them feel, because he will never call them that in any kind way. 

his most recent video gave A LOT of context to their living arrangement and the way that he controls them on a day-to-day basis (as all of my friends have suffered through hearing about lol). and i think that the context we learned is really important when set against all of the other manipulatorcore characters we get to see on there. it seems very vital that his listener has no name and no identity, but he still requests their permission to “help” them (“I can rework these memories. I can make them feel better than you could ever imagine. Mine. I can help. I can fix this. Can I help? Will you let me help? Please let me help.” Possessive Yandere Demon Rewrites Your Memories (4:03)). in doing this he offers them autonomy that he has no obligation to give, but he still won’t give them a name. because, as he calls them 52 times in that one video, the only thing they will ever be to him is “Mine.” 

[mikhailwrites]

Waiting for Connection 3 / Ghost x Soap NerdAU

Ghost is retired and plays milsim videogame. Soap is still in the force and sometimes plays that same videogame...

Previous chapter | AO3

They’re crouching in some bushes; a helo whirrs over their heads. “Alright, the target is two Ks away, bearing one-seventy-five, heavy enemy presence is expected, dug-in infantry in the buildings, possible anti-tank and snipers on the roofs. We will split into three groups and use the terrain to our advantage as we close in from three sides. Is anyone here proficient with explosives? And I do mean proficient,” Ghost pauses, not really expecting anyone to say yes. Using explosives in this game is pretty complicated; most trigger-happy, fireworks-loving kids give up or are told to give up after a dozen or so times they blow up either themselves or their fireteam.

“Aye, I can blow somethin’ up,” the Scotsman says. Well, alright, Ghost has his doubts, but he will enjoy chewing him out if he fucks up.

“Brilliant, you with me then, the rest of you check your gear and group up accordingly,” Ghost tells them, refilling his glass with bourbon. “You’ll get into positions around the target, I’ll take care of the snipers, and Soap here will breach the building so we can clear it. Everything clear?”

Again, he gets general confirmation. At least nobody is questioning his position as a leader today.

“Great, let’s move out,” Ghost commands.

They sneak forward, mindful of their surroundings and each other. Once they reach the crest of the hill, Ghost and Soap lay down in the tall grass while the other two groups proceed. Ghost takes his spotter’s scope and checks the buildings roughly half a click away. It’s a cluster of three, but two of them are little more than glorified sheds. It’s the two-story one that worries him.

“I can spot for you, Ghost,” Soap offers, surprising Ghost. It’s a role that nobody usually wants, not very glamorous, if you’re not the one firth a finger on the trigger, Ghost supposes.

Ghost gives him the scope. “Let’s see it, then.”

Soap hums, his voice deep in his throat as he looks at the building. “They’re not on the roof, sir; seems like the intel was wrong. I see a tango by that pile of hay at ten o’clock, ghillie suit.”

Ghost looks through the scope, following Soap’s instructions and sure enough, there is a sniper. “Well spotted, soldier.”

“Wind’s alright, but I’d account for half a notch, sir,” Soap says as he looks again.

Ghost wanted to do just that. Soap seems like an interesting bloke. “Rog, adjusting.”

Ghost presses a key to steady the avatar’s breathing before taking the shot. It’s a clean headshot; the sniper keels over as blood and brain spatter on the hay. “Good call. Anything else?”

“Not from what I can see, but I’d advise caution.”

“Alpha-one to all Alpha, the sniper is down. Proceed, but stay frosty, boys.”

He and Soap do the same, carefully advancing to the structures. The tall grass gives them some advantage, though Ghost doesn’t want to overestimate it. He’s also on the lookout for any more snipers. It’s quiet, only the cicadas and birds.

Crossing those few hundred meters is when they’re at their most vulnerable. Out in the open with no cover to get behind. They know it, and the enemy would know as well if anyone spotted them. It would be over quickly.

Ghost should be tenser than he is, but having Soap watching his six helps a lot. The lad is definitely something else—probably military or an educated enthusiast.

“Alpha-three and Alpha-four, we’re in position by the wooden shed,” the second team chimes in.

“Copy that, Alpha-two; check the shed for any surprises. Alpha-five, Alpha-six, what’s your status?” Ghost asks.

“Almost there, Ghost, are we to check the other shed?”

“Affirmative. Let’s RV by the northern wall of the main building in two.”

It’s been smooth sailing so far, Ghost thinks, which is, of course, when everything goes to hell. First, he hears a shout, then a burst of unsilenced shots. There goes the moment of surprise.

Ghost raises his rifle. Scope on it is not very practical for close combat situations, but he can make do. “We breaching wall or door?” Soap asks, coming up on Ghost’s three o’clock.

“Fuck, fuck, I’ve been shot,” their teammate exclaims, clearly angry.

“Status. You injured or KIA?” Ghost doesn’t even ask why the Alpha-five didn’t have Six’s six.

“Injured, managed to kill the bastard in the shed, though.”

“Good job. Alpha-three or four, do you have a medkit?”

“I do,” Alpha-four responds.

“Right, go take care of him, Alpha-Six. Regroup with Three on us; we’re going through the southern wall.”

“Roger,” they respond.

“Well, Soap, get us through that door,” Ghost says, taking a swing from his glass, realising it’s almost empty.

“On it, sir,” Soap barks out, all business, as he goes to set up the charge. Ghost waits by the corner, checking Soap’s six in case they have a pest problem. A minute later, two other Alphas join him.

“Alpha-Three, how’s Four doing?”

“All patched up, we’re coming to you now.”

Once the charge is set and they’re safely behind the corner, Ghost gives the green on the breach. “Be careful of friendly fire. Otherwise, if it moves, it’s a fair game. Let’s go!”

The blast cracks through Ghost’s headset. There’s a lot of smoke, but they run it nonetheless. Ghost spots a movement in the settling dust and pulls the trigger. “Tango down, let’s move!” He feels Soap right behind him and also sees the laser of his rifle.

They go up the stairs with Five and Six while Three and Four clean the rooms below. “Heavy armour, stand back!” Ghost hollers, taking a few steps back. “Frag out, fire in the hole!” He crouches and turns away from the blast.

As soon as the grenade explodes, he’s back on his feet. There are several doors before them. Ghost gestures for the other pair to go on the left while he and Soap go on the right. As soon as he comes to the door, a shotgun blast comes through them. “Shotgun behind the door,” Ghost announces. “I’ll kick them in, Soap, be ready to jump the gun.”

“Rog!”

Soap is fast. As soon as Ghost kicks the door, the Scot is there, sweeping the room until he finds the target and eliminates it.

Another shot rings behind them, where the other team is. “Oh, bollocks! I’m out, guys, sorry.”

More shots from downstairs. “Ground floor clear! Coming up to finish this,” Alpha Three announces.

There are two doors left.

One room turns out empty. The other, however…

“Stop!” Don’t touch it!” Soap barks out just as Alpha Three reaches for the doorknob. That’s when Ghost sees it. A tripwire. Bloody hell.

Soap quickly produces wirecutters and cuts it.

“Alright, clear,” Ghost leaves the last two enemies to his teammates.

With that, the mission is done.

One by one, the players thank for the game and disconnect until it’s just CallMeSoap and Ghost.

“Right, been a good game,” Soap says. Usually, a farewell follows, but not this time, as if he is waiting for something.

“Been the best bloody game I’ve played in a long time,” Ghost admits, unwilling to be the one to hang up on the stranger. “We could play again sometime; I miss working with someone who knows the drill for a change.”

“Miss working?” That is a specifically aimed question, telling Ghost that whoever the man is, he’s sharp.

“Been in the military, retired now,” Ghost shares a harmless little information. Deliberately and voluntarily, something he wouldn’t do a few years ago.

“I see, that explains a lot, actually. Thought you are either force or nutjob,” Soap admits with a lilt to his voice, suggesting a smile. “You don’t sound a retirement age, though.”

Ghost chuckles. “Maybe I just sound younger. So, what branch are ya?”

“I would tell you, but then I’d have tae kill ye,” Soap says with a mockingly deep and serious voice.

“Fair enough. Would you fancy another game sometime?”

“Sure. Dinnae have much time, so… dinnae hold yer breath, but I’ll add you to my friends.” The notification confirms his words. Ghost does the same.

“Gotta go now. Thanks for the game; was fun,” Soap says with finality.

“Yeah, it was; see you around, Soap,” Ghost hovers over the button labelled Disconnect.

“You know it, Ghost.” Then a sound announces Ghost is alone on the channel.

[tadpolesonalgae]

“maybe it’ll turn out to be a wonderful meal they all bond over 🥳”

now tabby, you know damn well…

anyways, thinking about the next chapter, and there’s something i’d like to chime in on. when i was 14, i attempted suicide, and for me, being around family make me super uncomfortable, to the point where when i was around them and they were asking me questions i’d just go non-verbal. like full on armadillo into myself, under a table, refusing to say or do anything. i feel like reader and i are SUPER alike (or at least i used to be super like her) so i think it’d be interesting to see what here reaction will be when she’s surrounded by everyone at a family dinner, essentially forced to socialize. i’d also like to say that in the immediate few weeks after i was let out of the hospital, i was sort of hot and cold with how i was feeling. like one day i’d wake up feeling like death itself was sitting on my chest, but then the next, i’d be awake at 6am, hop out of bed, and immediately start doing things to better myself. and on some of those days, i’d do and say reckless things (i’m like 95% sure i was basically just manic). one time, relatively soon after the incident, i was being lectured by my dad about schoolwork and i snapped and called him an asshole straight to his face; something i NEVER would have done before, and everyone in the family was just in shock because everyone, including myself, had never expected me to act in such a way. immediately after i said it though, i reverted back to my usual self and ran away and hid under a table locked in my room and didn’t speak to anything for a while after that. i guess the point i’m trying to make here is; suicide attempts can do weird things to people’s emotions, everything has essentially come bubbling to the surface, so i’d sort of like to see reader acting in a few unexpected ways. i don’t want a 180 degree spin on her character, i just want some of those unexpected snaps to come out. like i could totally see mor saying something vaguely bitchy-ish and reader saying “oh fuck you” on instinct or something, completely blindsiding everyone at the table, even herself, and essentially breaking down and reverting back to her timid manner immediately after like “oh my gosh i’m so sorry i don’t know where that came from”

anyways, yah, i love the story, you’re doing such a great job expressing everyone’s emotions, like the whole situation is just super nuanced and you’re doing a great job at showing it, i truly just love your writing <3

-🌁

‘now tabby, you know damn well…’

🫣😭😭😭

I have no idea why anyone would be concerned about what could unfold over a family dinner with Mor and reader sat so close to one another

‘to the point where when i was around them and they were asking me questions i’d just go non-verbal.’

Okay, first of all, I am so sorry you ever had to experience a low like that and you have all my respect and any warmth I can offer for managing to make it through to where you are now, I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it was to get past that and live, but I’m happy you’ve made it to now and will continue onwards 🧡💛

Second of all though, I wanted to mention that I haven’t heard anyone else experience the silence like that? I think fourteen is also hands down the worst age to be for a lot of people for some reason, and while mine was from anxiety and not depression, similar moments happened? Just kind of shutting down in social situations specifically around family and being unable to respond? I do wonder if it’s some kind of coping mechanism, or a form a dissociation to distance oneself from the present to feel safer?

‘i’d also like to say that in the immediate few weeks after i was let out of the hospital, i was sort of hot and cold with how i was feeling.’

Even in day-to-day life, I have to admit I find it strange how swiftly emotions can change? Or even just waking up in a bad mood that you can’t shake no matter how many hot meals you have, or how clean your room is, or how many showers you take? And it just kind of clings to you, waiting for something bad to happen? It’s so unhelpful and difficult to cope with so I’m sorry you had to go through those likely turbulent emotions :/

‘(i’m like 95% sure i was basically just manic)’

So was it similar to rapidly swinging between depressive and manic episodes? I mean, to an extent I could see why after having been through such intense emotions that it would take a while to begin feeling semi-like yourself again?

‘i guess the point i’m trying to make here is; suicide attempts can do weird things to people’s emotions, everything has essentially come bubbling to the surface, so i’d sort of like to see reader acting in a few unexpected ways.’

I agree with emotions becoming pretty volatile and unpredictable after a suicide attempt from a logical standpoint, however I would like to say(?) theorise(?) I feel like those ‘snappy’ moments weirdly tend to come out around people you’re close with, so I couldn’t see it happening with Mor? That being said, I do have some ideas in mind for some stuff that relates to these slightly out-of-the-blue behaviours

‘anyways, yah, i love the story, you’re doing such a great job expressing everyone’s emotions, like the whole situation is just super nuanced and you’re doing a great job at showing it, i truly just love your writing <3’

I really appreciate your reassurance, but I do hope it isn’t bringing up any bad memories for you :/

Obviously there are heavy spots in the story, and inevitably I think because emotions can manifest in different ways in different people, there might be some parts that resonate with you, while others that seem strange or out of character, but I hope that for the most part the story is fairly fluid and maybe (I’m hoping) for some people it may turn out to something to find some semblance of comfort in? Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself though 🧡💛

[friendlymathematician]

Genuine question: How do you overcome the feeling/idea that you're inherently bad at STEM because you're a woman?

OK so i grew up with an older brother (older by 1 year) and my mom always pushed him to do better at maths & physics especially because he showed interest in computer science, when it came to me she'd always say "oh dont bother with that, your brother is better at that stuff" " that stuff is too hard just pick something easy"... even though i got better grades than him, and she always encouraged him to perform better in school because she 100% believed he could amount to smth great, whereas she'd just say "well this is just what you're capable of" whnever i got a bad grade. She literally would say "you just don't have the brains for it"

I don't resent my brother, he always pushed me to do better and get better grades, he encouraged me to pick the hardest like "field" during high school. My dad would always nurture my love of physics and science in general, and he would say "i dont want you to be limited, just work hard".

But the way my mom treated me still affected me i think, sometimes i find myself still genuinely believing men are better than me just because theyre men.

I figured you could give some advice since youre in STEM yourself ?

oh, this is difficult. i have similar stories, although a different family dynamic. in my case, i was told (by my mother) that i was only good at things because i worked hard, while my brother was simply naturally good at them. now, you could argue this is a good thing (growth mindset and so on), but there are two issues that arise. first, most stem fields have some level of a genius cult. being effortlessly good at them is what you're supposed to do, while working hard is not enough unless you have the genius too. this is especially pronounced in maths/physics/computer science. second, the "you're only good at it because you work hard" hits very different when you're not actually working hard.

i think it can be partly ameliorated by surrounding yourself with women (take classes with female instructors, look for active "women in x" groups and activities, make an effort to be friends with other women who also like stem). another thing that helps is to be able to point at actual accomplishments when the doubt creeps in. these can be either from your education (yes, you did do really well in that analysis class) or informal accomplishments (from working with your field as a hobby).

i do think a lot of the advantage males have in stem classes is that they're encouraged to obtain these informal accomplishments already as teenagers, which both give them some knowledge and experience you can't get from formal instruction and give them personal "wins" to point to when things get difficult. so pick up amateur radio, or try your hand at building an app, or solve project euler problems, or see how many different kinds of frog species you can find. there's this pop-psych idea that you build confidence in the abstract and then accomplishments follow, but i'm entirely convinced it's the other way around. confidence comes from doing things. spending 20 hours trying to figure out how to set up a pi-hole in your apartment (even if 18 of those hours are spent doing it wrong) builds a lot more confidence in your abilities with computers than spending 20 hours trying to convince yourself that you're just as capable as a man.

anyone else want to chime in with tips for anon?

[diaryofamadsunwukongfan]

Search & Destroy at Mountain Glenn

•The episode begins exactly where the last one left off.

•"Professor Oobleck?" (ok I know this is his first time showing up in this au but just roll with the fact that the girls already know him).

•"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And... It's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!"

•Weiss tries to speak, but before she can even get a word in-

•"Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind! ...schedule!" the quirky professor declares before zooming up the Airship.

•After taking in their Prof... strangeness, Ruby decides to help lift her teammates spirits.

•"Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going on a top secret mission with Doctor Oooobleck- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse."

•"Top secret mission?" a voice repeats offscreen.

•Team RWBY turn their heads and find Team JNPR standing behind them, apparently having heard the entire conversation beforehand.

•"You're going on top secret missions without us?" Nora asks. "I'm hurt... sad... Maybe a little hungry? That last one's your fault, though, Ren..." Nora's boyfriend crosses his arms at her in response.

•"How did you guys get signed up for a secret mission anyway?" Jaune asks.

•"Oh, Headmaster Ozpin assigned us..." Ruby responds, while trying to not to give too much information.

•"Hey, so are we!!!" Nora excitedly responds. Her outburst gives Weiss, Blake, and Yang a look of shock and worry: why would Ozpin give out two dangerous missions to freshmen on the same day...

•"Headmaster Ozpin want us to retrieve the Gladius Regis; a Valish relic that was used by the King of Vale during the Great War. It's hidden away at the top of a mountain in the far South, and everyone who climbs the mountain...never returns." Pyrrha exposition dumps onto Team RWBY (note: Gladius Regis is not a Relic relic, it's just a relic, if that makes any sense.)

•"Pyrrha! Don't scare them like that!" Jaune chimes in, "Mount Brown is perfectly safe, my family used to go camping there all the time! Ugh, can't say the same about Mount Glenn though..."

•"Our Airship is ready to leave." Ren informs the rest of his teammates.

•"Darn it! Well, see you girls!" Jaune says. "Love you♡", "I fare thee well!", "... bye." The rest of Team JNPR say their goodbyes as they march offscreen.

•"Goodbye Jaune! Bye Nora! Bye Pyrrha! Bye Ren!" Ruby says goodbye to each of her friends.

•"I'd thought they'd never leave." Blake snarks. "Tell me about it." Sun, who is suddenly standing next to the girls, joins in.

•"AHHH!!!"

•"Ahh, wait, why are you girls screaming???"

•"Sun?! What are you doing- wait... are you spying on us, again???" Yang accuses him.

•"Not this time." Sage, who suddenly apppears behind Yang, answers her question.

•"AHHH!!!"

•"Ok, does anyone else want to just pop up out of nowhere!!!" Yang yells. That's when Neptune and Scarlet step out from behind Sage.

•"Look, we just wanted to ask you girls if you had time to go to the city with us before we head off on our missions." Sun finally explains himself.

•"Unfortunately we do not, but... thanks, Sun." Blake responds.

•"Worth a shot. Ok Team SSSN, time to roll out! Goodluck on your mission ladies!" Sun says before leading his team offscreen.

•"Goodluck Snow Angel!" Neptune says before following his teammates.

•"Goodluck Neptune!" Weiss calls out to him.

•"Four minutes, ladies!" Oobleck tells the girls before zipping back to the ship.

•"Wish us luck guys!" Ruby calls out to Team SSSN offscreen, with a pleading tone of voice.

•Scene change: About two hours have passed as Team RWBY and Oobleck are riding the airship to their destination.

•The five of them are having casual banter when the topic of Mountain Glenn comes up. Yang gives exposition to Weiss & Blake (& the Audience) about it: about 2 years before she was born, the Kingdom of Vale was building large scale new settlements in the face of an overpopulation crisis. The majority of these new settlements were just moving the city limits closer and closer towards the South Eastern mountains, but one settlement was made across the mountains: the Mount Glenn Project. The plan was to create a type of Mega city that would house the majority of Vale's population while also serving as a market center for the entire kingdom. The Project was the largest scale Dust building operation (as in, every building in the city was created using Quake Dust) the Kingdom of Vale had ever seen, and the entire city was created in one year and six months by a genius architect. In order to incentivize people to move there, the Council of Vale created an insurance program where families who sighed up to live in Mount Glenn would have all expenses paid! Hundreds of people flocked to the new city within days of completion! It was all perfect... too perfect. Instead of Huntsman, Mount Glenn was entirely protected by a Holo Dust dome that was generated by a machine on the inside. No one knows how it broke, 17 years after Mount Glenn fell. All that is known, is that that within seconds of the dome collapsing, the largest fraternity of Grimm the kingdom of Vale had ever seen descended onto the city. It's entire population, every man, woman, and child living in the city was believed to be killed within hours. Because the attack happened during nightfall, the council were slow to act, and every distress signal coming from Mount Glenn were cut short by the Grimm... it was the greatest failure the Kingdom of Vale had ever had.

•"If you know all of this, why are you failing my class" Prof. Oobleck asks Yang.

•"I said I had the papers, I just didn't turn them in yet!!!" Yang angrily responds.

•The rest of the girls have a laugh after that frankly disturbing story Yang just told them.

•The scene skips forward a few moments as the ship finally lands. Team RWBY + Oobleck take their first steps into the mountain as the ship rushes away.

•"Ladies! You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?" Oobleck then turns to Ruby, who fummbling with her bag. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at school."

•Ruby tries to explain herself when Zwei bursts out of her bag.

•"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought... a dog?"

•"I, uh-"

•"Genius!!!"

•Prof. Oobleck then explains the objective of this mission to the group: Mount. Glenn has recently been a hotspot for Grimm activity which suggests that a hidden human organization is operating out in the ruins, which tracks with Ruby's info on the CCT tower spy (cue Ruby sweating). By tracking the movements of Grimm in the area, the five of them can discover exactly where this hidden organization is.

•"So, how long do we track the grimm in this area?" Blake asks Oobleck.

•"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, Grimm have been known to stay isolated from humans for months - and there's a Beowolf pack."

•"What?" Weiss asks.

•"And now they've seen us."

•"What?!" Weiss asks again.

•"Girls, get your wrapons out now!!!" Oobleck shouts!

•TEAM RWBY VS GRIMM FIGHT SCENE!!!

•"Heh. Piece of cake!"

•"Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?"

•KILLING GRIMM MONTAGE!!!

•Yang eventually asks Oobleck why he isn't helping them kill Grimm, and he reminds them that this is a job they signed up for and he is their teacher grading them on this job.

•"Tell me, Yang: Why did you choose this line of work?" Oobleck asks the blonde.

•"Uh- well, to fight monsters and protect-"

•"No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress."

•"The honest reason? I'm... a thrill-seeker! I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win... y'know?" Yang lies.

•"... I see."

•WaCkY mOnTaGe TrAnSiTiOn

•"And you, Miss Schnee? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So... why choose this over your singing carrer?" Oobleck asks Weiss.

•There's a pause before Weiss gives an answer in a monotone voice, "It's exactly as you said: I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I gained my family semblance, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty." Weiss lies.

•"... Interesting."

•WaCkY mOnTaGe TrAnSiTiOn

•"And what about you, Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose." Oobleck asks.

•"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Racism, Discrimination... Someone has to stop it." Blake tells the truth.

•"Very well. How?"

•"I-" suddenly Blake remembers that she has a secret to keep, "...don't have time right now to discuss..." she awkwardly lies.

•"Hmm." Oobleck hums to himself.

•WaCkY mOnTaGe EnDiNg

•Oobleck asks WBY to set up camp as he and Ruby secure the perimeter. Zwei tags along with them.

•As the three make their way around the perimeter, Ruby spots out massive black creatures in the forest below the mountains.

•"That, my dear girl, is a Goliath." Oobleck matter-o-factly tells Ruby.

•"Whooa." Ruby whispers. She then draws Cresent Rose, "Let's kill it!"

•"I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size."

•"But... What if it attacks us?"

•"Fret not, Ruby; those Goliaths are not concerned with us. Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they have done one important thing: They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength, we make up for in will, and that killing one human will only bring more."

•"As Oobleck says this, Ruby turns to face the Goliath she spotted again an realizes that it's been staring at her the whole time, despite being miles away from her.

•Without breaking eye contact with the Grimm, and speaking in a low voice, Ruby asks: "Then why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?"

•"Waiting." Oobleck responds to her.

•Suddenly, a loud sound thunders throughout the forest, the Goliath's heard calling it. The lone Goliath breaks eye contact and leaves... but Ruby still has the feeling that isn't the last time she will see it.

•Ruby breathes a sigh of relief.

•"Now then, Miss Rose, I have a question to ask you. Why-"

•"-did you become a huntsman?!" Ruby finishes Oobleck's sentance. "I asked first so you have to answer!" Ruby jokes.

•"Very well then... Look around and tell me what you see."

•Ruby looks around and says, "Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets?"

•"I see lives that could have been saved. As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it in the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could have been saved, but I also see an opportunity; an opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger. I am a Huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be."

•Ruby and Oobleck (+ Zwei) continue walking around the perimeter.

•Scene change: back to WBY, the girls have set up a camp inside a surpisingly well preserved building that looks like the ground floor of a hospital. Weiss uses Shock Dust to turn on the building's lighting and heating and, to her shock, it actually works! Blake & Yang then lay they sleeping bags on and around the benches. Despite their relative success, the girls are all in a dour mood.

•"I can't believe we didn't find anything..." Yang loudly exclaims.

•"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side." Blake attempts to calm her down.

•"I lied." Weiss says.

•"What?" Blake asks.

•"Earlier, about... upholding the legacy. I couldn't tell him the truth..." Weiss explains while looking far away.

•Yang responds, "Yeah... No, me too. I mean... I don't know."

•"I don't know, either. I know what I want to do, but how can I do it when I'm hiding myself?" Blake responds.

•"Well, it doesn't matter." Yang says. "We know why we're here. Right?"

•The three girls sit in silence.

•"Ahh wonderful, you found a perfectly opperating Hospital!" Oobleck shouts as he walks into the room.

•"Indoor heating!!!" Ruby screams as she bursts into the room along with Zwei. "I missed you... so much..." she whispers to the building.

•"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?" Oobleck asks.

•Team RWBY look amongst themselves. None of them want to.

•Ruby then stands up, "As team leader, I'll do it so they don't have to!" Oobleck then rushes off to his lookout point and Ruby begins to walk off when Yang stops her.

•"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?"

•"Hmm... actually, he didn't. Weird. Oh, well; good night, guys!" Ruby says as she leaves.

•WBY then lie in the room waiting to go asleep, each one thinking about their troubles: Weiss thinks about the gilded cage her father trapped her in as she willingly defends him, Blake thinks about the warpath she helped to set the White Fang on that she isn't sure she can stop, and Yang thinks about her reason to even be there... the woman that gave birthed to her and left.

•The End?

Part 2

•The episode begins with Ironwood standing over a balcony at Beacon Academy, looking over the city in the dark of night. After taking in the city, he breathes out a heavy sigh. That's when Glynda walks up from behind him.

•"I know you like to be the first one up in the morning, James, but this is a little-" before Gylnda can finish her jab at Ironwood

•"My side's acting up." Ironwood responds. This changes Glynda's mood from lightly annoyed to melachonic.

•A moment passes, and Gylnda walks closer to Ironwood before asking "What's really on your mind?"

•"I trusted Ozpin even after he made me a Tin Man... and now I worry that something worse will happen to Vale's people."

•"Are you serious!" Glynda snaps at Ironwood, "Oz saved you're life after that incident but you're still soo hurt that now you're questioning if he can even be trusted!!"

•Suddenly, Ironwood turns to face Glynda and asks in a low voice "Do you trust him, Glyn?"

•This question shocks Gylnda into silence because she doesn't fully trust Ozpin anymore. She's been questioning his actions ever since he allowed Ruby into Beacon.

•"I... I..." Glynda then turns her head to the city before continuing, "Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack. And I think that's something worth remembering."

•Ironwood, sensing Glynda's real feelings, leaves the balcony in a huff while Glynda stays behind. She then gazes at the city herself, and takes in the sounds of children laughter...

•Scene change!

•In the abandoned hospital, WBY are arranged in a circle of sleeping mats underneath a single yellow lightbulb, Weiss laying on a row of chairs while Blake and Yang sleep on the floor. In a side room, Ruby is aiming at a Beowolf a mile a way through a broken window. Just as it looks like she is about to pull the trigger, she looks in the direction of her sleeping teammates, and rests her hand. Outside the building, Oobleck is marching around the building and stops at a broken window to look at the three slerping girls... they are not sleeping.

•"Blake, are you awake?" Yang asks.

•"Yeah"

•"Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?"

•"Interogating us, relaying information back to Ozpin." Blake coldly states.

•"You think?"

•"What other reason could he have?"

•"Weiss, are you awake?" Yang asks.

•"Of course I'm awake! You two are talking. And I think he... When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. My father forbade me from becoming a huntress because he didn't want me to leave him like my sister. He forced me to be a stupid teen idol as a distraction! And I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control from my grandfather, our business has operated in a... discriminatory way."

•"That's a massive understatement." Blake snaps at Weiss.

•"Which is why I need to make things right. If I had stayed a pop star, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it!"

•"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a mentor named Adam. More of a partner, actually. He and my foster mom always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place for Faunus. But of course, their idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for Humans. I joined the Academy because I wanted to prove them wrong, that some Humans can and will fight for us. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I - how can I undo so many years of oppression?"

•"I'm sure you'd figure it out. You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake." Yang tries to reassure her partner. This causes Blake to explode.

•"But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized the White Fang had become a monsters, I ran! Even my fighting style! The first technique I ever learned was the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!"

•"That's nonsense Blake." Weiss calmly tells her. "You stood up to Cardin and me, ignorant humans with political clout. You're braver than you think." Weiss tells Blake. This causes a single tear to fall from Blake's eye.

•"At least you two have noble goals." Yang tells the two girls. "I'm only in this to the woman who left me. And I'm ok with that, anyone in my place would want answers. But what about after I find her? I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want to travel the world looking for my mom and ask her why. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that. I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today."

•"Well, she's still just a kid." Weiss says dissmissivly.

•"She's only two years younger." Blake corrects her, "We're all kids."

•"Well, not anymore. I mean, look where we are!" Yang stands up and gestures, "In the middle of a warzone and armed to the teeth!"

•"It's the life we chose." Blake says.

•Weiss then stands up and says, "It's a job. We all had this romanticized vision of being a Huntress in our heads! But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people! And whatever we want, will have to come second."

•Outside, Oobleck smiles when he hears what Weiss says and then goes back to his patrol.

•Time skip!

•Yang is now standing in the side room Ruby was in, having taken her place. She then hears a twig snap, and jumps out of the broken window to investigate off screen.

•Ruby, who is sleeping on Yang's mat on the floor, is woken up by Zwei barking at Yang. Zwei then walks out the front doors while sniffing the ground.

•"Huh? Zwei get back here, it's not safe!" Ruby whispers to her dog so as not to wake the others. It doesn't work.

•Ruby then tip toes out of the building and follows after Zwei, who has walked far away from the abandoned hospital and into the ruined streets of Mount Glenn.

•After a while, Ruby spots Zwei behind the corner of a building and uses her semblance to catch him.

•"There you are you-"

•"Who was that?" An unfamiliar voice from the dark calls out.

•Ruby quickly covers her and Zwei's mouths and ducks down.

•"Who are you talking to?" A second voice calls out. "I thought I heard someone." The first voice says. "Instead of thinking, you should be working. Lets get back to base already." the second voice says as the two walk away.

•Ruby quickly looks around the corner and sees who the voices are, White Fang grunts.

•Ruby then trails the grunts to their base: a large abandoned shopping mall.

•"We have to get back to the others, now!" Ruby says to Zwei. While carrying the dog, she runs down the ruined city streets to get back to the base.

•Suddenly, the road underneath Ruby cracks open.

•Ruby tries to use her semblance to move out, but she only reaches piece of broken rebar that she grabs onto with one hand, Zwei's tail in the other. Ruby quickly throws Zwei onto the rest of the road.

•The rebar Ruby is holding onto breaks, and the girl falls into darkness as she screams...

•When Ruby wakes up, she realizes that she is in no ordinary cave. Underneath Mount. Glenn is another city just as vast. Ruby then realizes that she is tied up.

•"You're a long way from home, little human." a White Fang grunt standing behind Ruby tells her as he bends over her. Ruby then spots another grunt to her side.

•"Our human is gonna want to see this one..." the other grunt says before she kicks Ruby's head hard, knocking her out.

•At the abandoned hospital, Yang walks back into the building to wake up Weiss for her turn patroling only to realize her sister is missing. The other girls wake up and wonder why Ruby disappeared.

•Suddenly, Oobleck walks into the building with Zwei in his arms. "Grab your weapons! Your leader may be in trouble!"

•Back underground, Ruby awakes to the two White Fang grunts who caught her dragging her by both arms through the underground city. All around her, grunts are at work, piloting Paladins to carry large shipping containers. Suddenly, a bomb like sound goes off.

•Ruby then shakes off the two guards dragging her and runs away in the other direction. Just before she is about to use what little Aura she has left to use her semblance, she gets shot in the back.

•"Tsk tsk tsk, you won't be getting away that easy, Little Red." Roman Torchwick's voice calls out as he reveals himself.

•Above ground, WBY + Zwei + Oobleck have arrived at the hole in the ground Ruby fell in.

•"Oh my. Of course! Of course, OF COURSE, OF COURSE!" Oobleck begins to chant.

•"What is it?" Blake asks.

•"Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to hundreds of people! People traveling to and from the city, the main city! Developed a subway system to the inner city! Grimm purged the city! Population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for jungles and deep caves!" Oobleck rants.

•"Doc, what are you saying?" Yang asks.

•"My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!"

•"They've been working in caves?" Blake asks?

•"No, no, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an Holo Dust based perimeter defense, and unique transportation; the city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory into the main Kingdom! Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start! As the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival: They took up shelter beneath the city! In massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway!"

•"An underground bunker?" Yang asks

•"In a matter of speaking, yes. A safe haven. Until... the Grimm found their way down to the tunnels. By that time, the Kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb. If Ruby is down there, we must find her..."

•Not The End.

[tragicclownwrites]

What are your favorite sbsp fanfics? Need recommendations for some good ones pls!

Hello, anon!

I'm honestly honored that you asked me this question. I even made a little banner for the occasion. I admit that I had to do some thinking about this one, but I hope you end up liking my suggestions (which are in no particular order). 🤗 I'm not sure what ships you're interested in (if any), but I made a list of my own preferences that undoubtedly influenced my choices below.

I admittedly haven't read everything there is to offer so if anyone else has any additional suggestions for this anon, please feel free to chime in! Can be any pairing/polycule/whatever floats your boat.

SQUIDBOB 🐙🧽

i will never (be your friend) by scabsthekid - 12 Chapters; 90K words; Rating: Teen+

Oh wow, where do I even start with this fic?? You'll often see fics that are beloved by fandom and wonder how it got there. But I can assure you, this fic deserves all the love & recognition it has received. It's such an original concept and the writing, setting and references are amazing and beautiful. I don't want to give anything away but it goes without saying that this is a must-read for anyone looking for SquidBob/SBSP fics! 💖

always be yours by tragicclownwrites - 15 Chapters; 71K words; Rating: Teen+

So yes, this is a self-rec. 🤡✍️ However, I felt it was warranted to include here as it's an unofficial sequel to the fic above. When I wrote this, I was very inspired to explore some of the themes the first fic left open-ended while creating another unique story for folks to enjoy. While the original fic is an absolute classic and I'm sure you'll love it, I'm very confident that you will enjoy this one as well if you've read that one. 😊

(I've also written a couple short fics based on this so feel free to check those out on AO3 as well)

Pop and Licorice by clefabletime - 6 Chapters; 63K words; Rating: Explicit

So this fic was super cute to read! There were lots of memorable moments and romantic tension. Tbh, I'm not typically a fan of NSFW fics for SBSP, but if I had to rec one, this fic would be it. If you're cool with that, great. If that's not your thing, no worries! That part happens towards the end anyway so you will not be missing out on the meat of the story if you decide to skip that part (though even that was well-written). The author does a good job building up to it so it flows naturally and you can see it coming.

i'm in love (you're the worst) by scabsthekid - 1 Chapter; 8.6K words; Rating: Teen+

Another one from this author because I love their work. 😊 It's a separate one-shot from her longer fic, but it's still worth the read. I love the idea of them "secretly" dating but then everyone kinda knowing the whole time and being super supportive about it. 🥰

jellyfish hunting by switchblade (pillars) - 1 Chapter; 1K words; Rating: General

Ahh SquidBob jellyfishing escapades! If you're looking for a slice-of-life, short & sweet fic, this one is a great option. The writing style was a plus in my book.

Make The Yuletide Gay by orphaned_account - 1 Chapter; 1.1K words; Rating: Teen+

Super short & sweet Christmas fic, but it warmed my heart the first time I read it. Realization of feelings are the best! Will note that the author has orphaned the work, so I'm not sure if they've written anything else.

PLABS 🦠🦀

Mixing Blues by ArmorAbs (jadeykitties) - 1 Chapter; 1.9K words; Rating: General

There aren't a ton of Plabs fics out there (yet), but I'd reco checking out this author if that's a pairing you're interested in - loving their WIPs so far! Anyway, I wanted to rec this fic in particular because I felt it conveyed so much of their history in such few (well-written) words and I love painting being a stand-in for that sort of self-expression. They are literally so hung up on each other, it's not even funny.

KARENDY 🤖🐿️

One More Visit by IncurablePeppermint - 3 Chapters; 2.9K words; Rating: General

Like Plabs, there aren't a ton of standalone Karendy fics out there (yet), but this fic is great if you like them together! I usually prefer more canon-divergent fics, but this AU felt like a mix of that and those super adorable barista/café AUs (which I do love). Hence why I wanted to rec this fic in particular. 😊 Would also recommend checking out this author for more Karendy content!

[solipsistful]

director’s cut on automatisms? 👀👀

this took a while to figure out what to even say, but i think i'll go chapter by chapter and say something interesting about each of them

but i'll first say that the very first unfinished draft of Automatisms was actually a NaNo project by Serpent, which i (ace) then took over and rewrote into its current form. so i'll be making this post and seeing if he wants to chime in (not that anyone except me has been particularly talkative lately rip)

XX01: Re-entry

i love that the fic starts (after the pretentious epigraph, im sorry) with a canon line. not only does it temporally set Automatisms as essentially an alternate Acceptance, but i think highlights how it really does follow from Control's canon experiences. like, i could absolutely see an argument that Control canonically just has a dissociative disorder (Authority begins with a dissociative episode, his guides…).

funnily, it wasn't actually any of our idea to go "what if him plural". that was a friend lol.

XX02: Breaching

Finally, a conclusion. Denouement. Control let out the breath he hadn’t intended to hold.

my desire to copy canon's style means hooray narrative (and ghost) metaphors.

XX03: Returning

this chapter has the big freaking problem of being extremely important in canon but not at all changed by Control getting some Lowry commentary. i know one answer would be to just… not follow canon so closely, but shh.

what this means is that it's basically best to read this fic with a very good memory for what happens in Acceptance, which probably isn't great. (i fall into the exact same problem with Doubled)

XX04: Waking

ive mentioned this before, but isn't it fun that Lowry's first time fronting alone occurs off-screen and is never really discussed explicitly? something with Narrative there. (it's also fun how canonically that's just Control having a freeze reaction to the biologist anyway, "playing dead to keep his head")

XX05: The lighthouse

god we had the HARDEST TIME deciding what person and tense Lowry's sections should be in. there's several version of this chapter trying to figure out first vs second vs maybe just third? and present vs past. first person present eventually won out as Special enough, even if i struggle to write it (even more than second person). it also leaves second person for the voice of Area X-as-narrator later, which is probably better.

and then Absolution is just gonna be plain old third person past, boo.

XX06: Somewhere else

just some Control reckoning with wtf is Lowry even doing in his head. i mean, it's an important question, like the most important thing in the world for Control right now, but it's sorta hard coming up with scenes where he can both think/talk about that without just going in circles about how unanswerable it is.

XX07: The tower

i hope this chapter feels as Significant as i intend it to be. this is, after all, the real moment of divergence from canon: Control never goes down the tower!

there are, like chapter 5, versions of this chapter where the "beckoning" is in the first person vs second person, italicized or different fonts or right-aligned or not set apart from the rest of the text at all, etccc. i Care about this formatting stuff okay. (had to go digging into how AO3 work skins work at all in order to get the chapter numbers right, for instance, lol)

XX08: The border

it really strikes me, given what we've seen of Absolution, that Lowry should be way more over-the-top in his reactions here lol. he's not a quiet shut down type like Control; he's over the top and angry and should have, i dunno, punched a tree or something. oh well. maybe he's just relying on not being in the body to give him some distance from basically the worst thing imaginable that could happen to him in this moment.

XX09: The teeth

ok i told myself i wouldn't say this about all the chapters, but i think this chapter in particular should've been longer lol. i mean, it's a Good Chapter, but that's why it should've been longer! there's a lot of implications of things that probably should've been explored more. i'm thinking in particular of Lowry wanting to go retrieve the videos. this is the guy who retrieved the videos from the first expedition, as awful as that must have been. he's abandoning all that and the first expedition overall by leaving the SR building.

ah well.

XX10: The throat

i think im so clever for the "are you real" repeat

XX11: Humanity

after all that kerfuffle over whether Lowry would be in the first/second/third person, we actually hadn't considered what that would look like when Lowry and Control were blurring, whoops. so, good thing that we decided on the first person, because that makes blurring into "we" instead of like. "yall" lmao.

XX12: Exorcism

how do you write hypnosis (especially from the point of view of the hypnotized)

i mean the real point of this chapter is just "look at my theory/interpretation that Lowry's hypnosis is linked to Area X's narrative control and isn't that fun"

XX13: Memory

i don't know what to say about this one. character discussions!

XX14: Disposition

this is simultaneously a filler chapter and also i should've spent longer dealing with things like Lowry having food issues (which is something i had sorta drawn from Acceptance but here is influenced by all the Absolution tidbits in which he's obsessing over eating animals in Area X lol).

but mostly it's a filler chapter because by this point, i knew that the second half of the fic would use all the same chapter titles in reverse, and i have Disposition2 already written so Disposition1 has to exist.

Bonus Sneak Preview: XX15: Escape

obviously a lot of my fic-writing efforts have been spent towards WOE.BEGONE lately, but i think another reason why Automatisms has been going slowly is that this next chapter includes a large change in time and context. so, i'm sorta wanting to think through whether there's anything in the old context that I still want to do before i decide on A Change. but really i should probably just go ahead and do the Change. as hinted above, i have a lot of post-Change stuff written. :>

- ace and no Serpent as it turns out whoops

[jenngerbread13]

Villain Valentine Day 7 - Hopelessly Forever Yours

Staring up at the buildings, Kerina didn’t feel lost, rather, like amidst something they had lost. It felt like home but eerily, something was wrong about the way it looked and they didn’t know why. Stopping in front of one building, they expected the doors to be closed to them as they didn’t know what purpose it served here and yet their feet had carried them here. Noticing the small pad to the side of the door almost instinctively they placed their hand against it, a soft chime replying “Welcome ho-” before it garbled up into static whatever the rest of the message would have been.

Another small chime and the door opened, Kerina stepping inside, riding the elevator playing a haunting tune to whatever floor it would stop at. They’d learned that this had turned into an exercise in trusting their gut, listening to their inner voice. The longer they listened to the inner voice and concentrated on it, the longer they could hold off the effects of the light sickness. Walking through the tiled hallway, their feet stopped in front of a door. Unlike the other signs, in an unfamiliar language, this one had a small dried wreath of purple thistles hanging around it. 

Protection against harm and meddling. A symbol of Endurance in the face of hardship.

They smiled and pressed their hand to the door, hearing a small chime but the message this time being pure static. Walking in, they knew this felt familiar. Everything felt so large and yet, a smile graced their face on seeing the bright yellow pillows atop the black plush bench of the table. Even though they were now the size of the pillow, Kerina felt an overwhelming urge to pick one up and throw it as they must have so many times in the past. The maps, scattered papers, and the bed hidden behind a bookshelf with a floral carpet below. A small pond beside it with a full wall and bathroom full of greenery. 

Climbing up & sitting on the side of the bed, they breathed in, the smells and feels of the entire place so familiar to them. This was home. Glad that not even Y'shtola could seek them out given the size and strength of the enchantment. They could breathe. Decompress. 

They heard the chime ring on the door and the garbled static rang out through the apartment. Telltale footfalls against the floor. Closing their eyes, all they could see was the light flooding their veins, corrupting them. Gripping the bed, they didn't want to deal with more invectives from him right now. They had enough to deal with.

He floated up in front of them, taking their hands in his. Sitting there in silence for once, he waited for them to speak first. He didn't want this end, for anyone else but her to take this role. In the depths of his heart which he thought couldn't be broken anymore, it had been made to hurt even worse. She once again proved him wrong. 

Opalescent tears streamed down their face as they stared at him “We knew this would have to end eventually. There's only one way this ends.”

“Yet you would still deny helping me in our Great Work which would restore you to your complete form. Help us get those we lost back. Help you get yourself back.” Gripping their hands he looked up at them, silently pleading.

“What assurance do I have that I would ever regain my form should I give in? Do you even know how?” Their fists curled up in rage and sorrow, not willing to give an ilm of room. Just as his resolve was unwavering, so too was theirs.

Rage crossed his features as he attempted to sputter out a response, angry that they would even question him wanting to get her back. Still, she had struck a chord of truth, an ugly truth he yet did not want to face. Sure, they would become a sin eater and help with the rejoining but he did not know how to recover her soul from such an intense corruption. If he would be able to save her. How her, the native of the source, the soul of his nemesis, his love, would fare.

Not even he had that answer. He could feel his breath involuntarily catching in his throat, eyes starting to sting and fill with tears he desperately tried to hold back. Angry that after all this time they could still read him like a book, open for her to see and read at her whim. Angry that they had always been his better.

Feeling their soft, gentle hand slide underneath his chin and tilt it upwards, he inwardly cursed at them seeing him weak, at how their mercy and truth unraveled him, leaving him bare. Those green eyes that stared back at him full of understanding, of… no. He didn’t even want to think of it. She had never said it then, so how could such a broken soul speak for her feelings after all these eons.

“We know this ends on the morrow. So for one last night, let us keep up pretending there is hope for us to exist. We both know I am hopelessly, forever yours.” Softly running their thumb over his cheek to wipe away his tears, they leaned in to kiss him, pressing their lips to his ever so gently as not to shock him.

Letting out the breath he’d been holding, their kiss brought him fully back to the present and he hungered, oh how he hungered for them. Pressing himself into the kiss, he dropped all pretense and grabbed them with his magic, red ley lines enveloping their body, and set them both comfortably back against the plush pillows of the bed. If this was to be their last night together for a long while, he wanted to make sure it would be one that was forever seared into their souls’ memories.

[casspurrjoybell-25]

ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS - Chapter 21

*Warning: Adult Content*  

Snow was falling softly as Dylan looked out his living room window.

He wanted to be out there in the fresh powder, surrounded by the smell of evergreens and breathing in the crisp air but he was afraid to walk around in public now.

He didn't know how far the rumors about him had spread and if any of his neighbors had heard.

Maybe if he waited a few more days, he'd get the courage to go for a walk.

Or maybe he'd get in his truck and drive somewhere where no one would be around.

His biggest fear was that he would eventually have to move somewhere else and start over.

The people in town made him feel like a monster but he loved living near the North Cascades and didn't want to leave this area or his cabin up in the mountains.

His thoughts were interrupted by a chime from his phone.

Confused, he reached for it.

If the Forest Service needed him for an assignment, they always called.

No one ever texted him.

The moment he saw the name in the text, his heart began to race and he read the text over and over.

"Hey. It's Jayce. I talked the Forest Service into giving me the phone number they had on file for you. I feel bad about how we left things. I'm not mad at you or anything. I miss you and I hope we can talk again. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding and for anything I did to hurt you."

Jayce had cared enough to track down his information.

Despite everything he said to Jayce and how he'd pushed him away, Jayce wasn't upset.

Jayce missed him.

He could hardly believe the words he was reading.

He typed out a message back.

His fingers were too big for the tiny letters on the phone and it took forever but as soon as it was done he sent it before he could second guess what he'd written.

"I feel bad too. I took a lot of things out on you and made assumptions. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm so sorry."

It didn't take Jayce long to reply.

"It's okay. No hard feelings. :) I hope we can still be friends? You can text or call me anytime you want. Also I thought I put the scarf you gave me in my backpack, but I can't find it anywhere. Is it with you?"

Overcome with emotion, he put his head in his hands.

Jayce hadn't left the scarf on purpose.

Jayce hadn't rejected him.

Most of all, Jayce still wanted him as a friend.

With his hands shaking, he pressed the call button on his text thread with Jayce.

It only rang twice before Jayce picked up.

"Dylan?"

"Yeah, it's me."

He could tell Jayce was smiling by the tone of his voice.

"I'm glad you called. It's really good to hear your voice."

"It's good to hear yours too. And I wanted to let you know the scarf is here."

"Oh, good. I was so worried I'd dropped it somewhere. I hate that it got left behind. It's the most thoughtful gift anyone's ever given me and without it I don't have anything to remind me of my time in the mountains with you."

"I can mail it to you," he offered.

"Maybe give me a couple more weeks. I'm staying in a hotel because I don't have an apartment yet. Or a job," Jayce sighed. "And honestly, I do want to see you again sometime. I mean, if you're okay with that. I can come and visit after Christmas when I get everything settled."

Dylan found himself smiling even though no one could see it.

"Yeah, of course that would be okay. Sorry you haven't found a job or apartment yet."

"It's just bad timing. I don't think there's a lot of hiring at the end of the year. I'll probably have more luck next year. Anyway, how have you been? Is it snowing more out there?"

That was a loaded question.

He struggled with how much to tell Jayce but decided Jayce was the only person who he could confide in.

"It's snowing a little now. I've been, uh, not great. Things are worse in town. Somehow it got out that you were in my cabin in the mountains and now there are rumors that I kidnapped you."

"What the fuck?" Jayce immediately exclaimed. "Why would anyone think that?"

"I'm not really surprised. People are always suspicious of me."

"It must have been the police. They asked if I was being held against my will, remember? But I can't believe they would tell other people about it and let them spread information that isn't true. That's so unprofessional."

He didn't know what to say, so he stayed quiet.

On the other end of the line, Jayce heaved a huge sigh.

"Dylan, I'm sorry this is happening. I never wanted to make your life more difficult."

"I'd like to come see you. When you find an apartment, I'll come out to visit," he told Jayce, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"Awesome. I'm already looking forward to it."

He wanted to stay on the phone with Jayce forever, listening to his voice and the sound of his laugh but he knew Jayce had a lot to do.

"Um, I should let you go," he said. "So you can work on the job and apartment situation. But it was good to hear from you and I'm sorry again about what I said the day you left."

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, no hard feelings. It was a rough day for both of us and shit happens. Just keep in touch, okay? I meant it when I said you can text or call anytime."

"Okay. Bye, Jayce."

"Bye, Dylan. Talk to you later."

He hung up and stared at the phone in his hand, a sense of hope returning.

He still had a friend.

Over the next couple weeks, Jayce kept in touch with Dylan, making sure to text him 'Good morning' and 'Good night' every day.

He wanted to earn Dylan's trust and show Dylan that he wasn't going anywhere.

He meant it when he said they were friends and once Dylan was comfortable with that, he wanted to open up the conversation to them being more than friends.

He'd called Dylan a few times, always hoping he wasn't bothering him or being annoying but Dylan seemed to want to stay on the phone.

He'd told Dylan about how things were going with his family and that he was going to visit his brother's house for Christmas but what he hadn't told Dylan was that he hadn't bought a plane ticket yet.

He knew with it being so close to Christmas, he either wouldn't be able to get a flight or would have to pay a lot more than he wanted but he couldn't make himself pull the trigger and commit to the plans.

The thought of Dylan being alone on Christmas broke his heart. Dylan had been alone for every Christmas since he was an adult and based on what Dylan told him about his parents not bothering to celebrate, Dylan might as well have been alone for all his Christmas' as a kid.

Dylan deserved more than that.

He deserved lots of presents under the tree and a nice Christmas dinner with someone who loved him.

He deserved the world.

He had to go back.

He couldn't just leave Dylan when he was the only person Dylan had in his life.

And selfishly, he would rather see Dylan than visit his family.

He enjoyed Dylan's company more.

Dylan accepted him for who he was and let him be himself.

With that decided, he picked up his phone to make a few calls.

If he was going to spend Christmas with Dylan, he wanted to make it a Christmas to remember. 

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Fluffuary 2023 Day 20: Date Night- Merry Brandybuck x OC

Merry Brandybuck x Brooke Bilberry

Description: Merry and Brooke have never had a one on one date, but Brooke doesn't want to say anything to him about it. Luckily she doesn't have to.

Word Count: 1.1k

Challenge made by the lovely @darthglitterfanfictionnfiction

Date nights were not uncommon between Merry and Brooke. They went out all the time with each other. The thing was, usually it ended up being a double date with Pippin and Camelia (or sometimes triple with Frodo and Lalia, or even quadruple Sam and Adelaide). And, as much as Brooke loved hanging out with their friends, she just wished it would be the two of them for once. 

“I mean, you and Sam spend time alone together, right?” She asked Adelaide one day while she wiped down the counter at the girl’s tea shop. 

“Of course. We go out like, twice every week,” Adelaide answered dutifully as she cleaned some cups. “Then we go out with everyone else when we’re invited.” 

“See, that’s what I want,” she said exasperatedly. “Like, don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with all of you. I’d just like one night with just the two of us, you know?” 

“Well, have you told Merry this?” 

“I don’t know how to bring it up without me sounding whiny.” 

“Brooke, I don’t think you could ever sound whiny to Merry,” the girl laughed. “I don’t think I’ve heard him make a single complaint about you ever.” Brooke had a hard time believing that, but Adelaide continued on. 

“Seriously, I think you should just talk to him about it. Don’t make him try to guess what you’re feeling,” she concluded before facing the door when the bell above it chimed. “And speaking of which…” Brooke followed her gaze and was pleasantly surprised to see none other than the rest of their friend group walking in. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Gamgee,” Sam greeted Adelaide, earning a giggle from the girl in question. 

“Good morning, Mr. Gamgee,” she returned happily, leaning against the counter to lean in to kiss him. The sight made Brooke smile, they really did deserve one another. 

“And good morning to you, my darling,” Merry said from in front of her, only serving to make her smile widen as she looked at him. 

“Morning, dear,” she responded, allowing him to lean over to press a sweet kiss to her cheek. “The  usual?” 

“You know it,” he winked as he sat down at the counter while she nodded and got to work. “So Brooke…”

“So Merry,” she joked, making him grin. 

“How would you like to go on a picnic later this evening?” The thought of spending time with him made her happy, but it began to fade when she realized that it was probably going to be another group date. Nevertheless she plastered a smile on her face as she set a scone in front of him. 

“I’d love to.” 

“Great! Be ready around 5:00 and I’ll come get you, okay?” Brooke nodded as she finished making his tea, and she had to hide the fact that she was both eagerly awaiting and dreading 5:00. 

Later that evening at precisely 5:00 Brooke heard a knock on her door. She’d taken the time after getting off of work to change into a slightly nicer dress since they’d be out and about (though she didn’t exactly know where they were going). After making sure she looked presentable one last time in her mirror she all but skipped to the door and opened it. There stood Merry in a slightly nicer vest and a wicker basket hanging from his left arm. 

“Well, don’t you look beautiful,” was the first thing he said to her. While compliments from him weren’t uncommon, for some reason it made her blush every time. 

“Why, thank you Merry,” she responded happily. “And you’re looking rather handsome this evening.” She beamed when she noticed the tips of his ears turned red, and he chuckled when he noticed it. 

“Are you ready to go?” He asked, holding out his free arm to go. Brooke didn’t verbally answer, but instead nodded as she linked her arm in his. She allowed him to lead her through the town, both of them saying hello when they saw anyone. It was a rather pleasant walk, the weather was nice and everyone they spoke to seemed to be in good moods, which only heightened their already good moods. 

After a small while of walking they ended up in a field not far from Frodo’s house. The girl was confused when she realized it was just the two of them in the vicinity. None of their friends were anywhere to be seen. Eventually she figured that they would just show up later, so she sat down on the blanket Merry laid out on the ground and helped him set out the different foods from the basket. 

Half an hour passed of the couple eating and enjoying each other’s company. Once they got full they laid down and watched the sky turn orange as the sun began to set. It was a beautiful sight to behold, and one that absentmindedly brought a smile to her face. She turned her head to look at Merry, her smile widening at the very sight. She loved him so much it was almost painful. They’d been through hell and back to get to where they were, and now they could live in the luxury that is being with each other for the rest of their lives surrounded by friends an-

Their friends. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that they still hadn’t shown up even though they’d been out there for long enough that even those running late would still be in attendance with them. Brooke was confused. Why hadn’t anyone showed up yet?

It was at that moment she was struck with the realization that this date would be just the two of them. For a moment Brook wondered if he had heard her and Adelaide’s conversation at the shop earlier. Then, she realized it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had realized that she wanted alone time with him, and he made it happen. Merry felt her eyes on him after a moment, and he turned his head to face her. His brows furrowed in concern when he realized she’d been staring at him intently. 

“Is everything okay, Brooke?” The girl didn’t answer at first. Instead she scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. His arm wiggled under her to wrap around her waist out of instinct, though he continued to stare at her curiously. 

“Better than okay,” was her only response. And that seemed to be enough for him because he grinned, pressed a kiss to her forehead, then the two of them looked up at the sky once again.

[blu-joons]

When The Two Of You Are On We Got Married Together ~ Seventeen Reaction

S.Coups:

You were tentative to say the least as you walked into the room, knocking gently on the door before opening it up. “Hello?” An unfamiliar voice spoke as you knocked, their smile appearing as you peered inside.

“I guess that you’re my husband,” you laughed across at them.

“Hi, yes I am,” he grinned, standing to his feet. “I’m Seungcheol, it’s lovely to meet you.”

“Y/N,” you smiled as Seungcheol walked over and pulled you into a hug. “Please tell me that you’re as nervous as I am about this.”

Seungcheol nodded straight away as you pulled back away from him, trying his best to disguise his nerves. “I don’ really know what to expect from doing this.”

“Me too,” you agreed, still laughing before him. “Honestly, I got told that doing this would be good for my team, and so here I am to do just that.”

Seungcheol smiled back at you, “I’ll make sure that we have a great time together, I mean how hard can being married really be?”

“I’ve got a good feeling about this, we can make this work surely,” you spoke, relaxing around Seungcheol, much to your own relief.

“I couldn’t agree with you anymore.”

Jeonghan:

You hung back behind Jeonghan as he knocked on the studio door, hearing the noise from inside straight away. “They’re here,” someone yelled out as Jeonghan took a hold of your hand and led you in.

“Mr and Mrs Yoon,” one of them immediately joked.

“Shut up,” Jeonghan sniggered to one of his members beside him. “Guys, this is Y/N.”

“Hello,” you nervously waved, overwhelmed by the number of people who were stood there and looking back at you.

Jeonghan pulled you into his side to a chorus of coos from the other members of his group. “Look at you two, you’re like a proper married couple.”

“Stop,” Jeonghan laughed, shaking his head at them, “I told Y/N that you guys would be nice, that means that you can’t tease the two of us.”

Your eyes glanced across as one of the members cleared their throat. “You said that we can’t tease you guys, but we can just tease you.”

“I like the sound of that too,” you chimed, trying your best to integrate in with the rest of the group, “we should just tease you instead.”

“Why are you joining their side already?”

Joshua:

You didn’t quite know where to look as you sat down with Joshua, knowing that he felt the exact same way. “It’s weird to think that this is our last day together, right?” He asked, sensing the tension’s cause.

“I don’t want it to end,” you admitted in reply.

“Me too,” Joshua agreed, “it’ll be weird not waking up and seeing you there tomorrow.”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better fake husband though,” you quickly added, not wanting the mood to darken too much between you.

Joshua nodded back across at you, “you’ve been amazing. I never thought that having a fake wife would feel so much like having a real wife at the same time.”

“I guess you’re just one of the lucky ones who got to have as great a wife as me,” you joked, drawing a laugh out of Joshua at the same time too.

His head shook at the smirk that was on your face, “whoever gets to marry you one day Y/N will be one very lucky guy.”

“As will the woman that gets to marry you,” you acknowledged, “if anyone ever doubts you, you bring them to me.”

“If nothing else, at least you know how great I am.”

Jun:

He shuffled briefly in his seat before looking across at the producer, ready to film his VT. “Our first question Junhui, what are your first impressions of Y/N?” The director asked once everything started rolling.

“She’s great,” he shyly smiled, bouncing in his seat.

“Just great?” They pushed, “you two seemed to be getting along pretty well together.”

“I’m taking it slowly,” he explained to them all, “but I think we’re going to have a great time being married to each other.”

The director nodded, catching the spark that was in Junhui’s smile. “You almost seem as if you’re a little bit smitten with Y/N.”

“No,” Junhui tried to laugh, but his voice let them know just how smitten he was, “don’t let Y/N in on how excited I am right now.”

Several chuckles came from the staff who were behind the cameras, “did we do a good job of setting you up with Y/N then?”

“Definitely,” Junhui finally admitted, “I don’t think you could have found anyone who suited me as well as Y/N does.”

“We’ll keep that as a secret between us.”

Hoshi:

A chuckle came from you as you walked out of the car to see where Soonyoung had driven you to. “Where else is good for a first date other than the beach?” He asked, offering his hand out for you to take.

“This place is great,” you smiled, taking a look around.

“It’s my favourite spot,” he told you, “I only bring my favourite people with me here.”

“Am I already one of your favourite people?” You teased, closing the car door before taking Soonyoung’s hand.

His head nodded back across to you, “I’m pretty sure last time I checked you were my wife, that makes you pretty special.”

“Of course,” you played along, bringing a laugh out of Soonyoung, “as your wife, I think that that should make me your number one.”

A hum of agreement came from Soonyoung, “just don’t tell any of the boys that and I promise that we’ll be alright.”

“How do you pick a favourite out of twelve other members?” You quizzed, confused as to how he managed to make it work.

“I don’t, that’s why you’re my favourite.”

Wonwoo:

Your smile was awkward to say the least as you and Wonwoo looked around the apartment that you’d be living in. “Where do we start?” He asked you in an attempt to try and sort everything out with you.

“Maybe unpacking?” You suggested in response to him.

“Yeah,” he smiled, “you unpack in the bedroom, I can take the sofa for a little while.”

“No way,” you quickly spoke up, “we’re supposed to be married, but you can’t take the sofa, it’ll be uncomfortable for you Wonwoo.”

His head shook, assuring you that he didn’t mind. “Maybe we should build up to sharing a bed rather than going in straight away.”

“Let’s do rock, paper, scissors for the sofa at least,” you tried to offer, “that way it’s fair for whoever ends up sleeping on there.”

Once again, Wonwoo’s head started shaking. “This is getting filmed, I’ve got to at least make people think I’m a gentleman.”

“You are a gentleman,” you encouraged, “you’ve taken great care of me, but we’re still playing rock, paper, scissors about the sofa.”

“I can see you’re going to be a stubborn one.”

Woozi:

You smiled back at Jihoon as he excused himself for a few moments, leaving you at the studio with the rest of the boys. “Now he’s not here, what’s he really like as a husband?” Soonyoung asked you straight away.

“He’s really lovely,” you laughed back to all of them.

“Tell us more,” Seokmin encouraged, “has he done anything super embarrassing?”

“No,” you continued to chuckle, “I’m not going to throw Jihoon under the bus with you guys as soon as he goes away.”

Their heads all shook as you let each one of them down. “We want something funny to be able to tease him about.”

“There’s nothing really to share, we’re just busy filming the show together,” you tried to explain to all of them, getting nowhere.

A finger poked against your arm as Seungkwan shuffled across to you. “We promise we won’t tell Jihoon what you say to us.”

“I’ll tell him that you were trying to get gossip though unless you guys leave me alone,” you warned them, “he’ll be pretty mad.”

“I can’t believe you’re on Jihoon’s side.”

DK:

A chuckle came from you as Seokmin walked over to you with a huge pile of blankets in his arms, wobbling all over the place. “I’ve got this,” you heard him say to himself as he tried his best to impress you.

“We’ll be hidden under those,” you laughed across to him.

“I wanted to make sure that you’d be warm,” he responded, “I’ve found all that I can.”

“This is crazy,” you joked, helping Seokmin as he dropped the pile of blankets down on the sofa, “how many did you manage to get?”

His shoulders shrugged, unfolding one and draping it over you. “We could hide from the cameras under all of these though.”

“I thought you said we were supposed to be having a cosy night,” you prompted, “I hope you’re not hinting at anything Seokmin.”

His head shook with a wide smile on his face too, “that’s for when the cameras are switched off, we don’t want to give them any ideas.”

“You’re impossible,” you sighed with a roll of your eyes, “anyone would think we really are married listening to you.”

“That means I’m doing a good job then.”

Mingyu:

You followed behind Mingyu as he pulled you to one side, away from where all of the cameras were. “What are you doing once we finish filming today?” He asked, looking around to make sure that no one was around.

“I haven’t really got anything planned,” you simply replied.

“Let’s go out,” he suggested, “do something away from the cameras for the while?”

“Like a celebration that we’ve finished filming?” You quizzed, not quite on the same line as what Mingyu was on.

His smile was weak back across at you, “I was thinking more of a chat, there’s a lot that I want to talk about with you.”

“You’ve had two months to talk to me,” you laughed, not quite picking up on what Mingyu was hinting at as he spoke to you.

His head shook as a light chuckle escaped him too, “I was thinking more of talking about us, and where we go from here.”

“Oh,” you stuttered as things began to make a little more sense to you, “you want to still see me once we’re done filming?”

“I want to do more than just see you Y/N.”

The8:

The corners of Minghao’s mouth turned up as he opened the envelope from the production team, taking a look at your picture on the card. “Who’s that?” Jeonghan asked as he passed by Minghao at the dorm.

“It’s my wife,” Minghao simply replied, watching Jeonghan’s smile drop.

“What are you on about?” He asked, “since when did you even have a girlfriend to marry.”

“It’s not like that,” Minghao sniggered as Jeonghan took a seat down beside him, “I’ve signed up to do We Got Married.”

A hand hit against his arm as Jeonghan excitedly bounced beside him, “how have you managed to not tell me you’re doing this?”

“Honestly, there’s so many of us that I forget who I’ve told and who I haven’t told,” Minghao laughed in reply to him.

Jeonghan’s head shook as he looked down at the card in Minghao’s hand, “you’re so lucky to be partnered up with Y/N too.”

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about her,” Minghao agreed, “I don’t think I could have asked for a better fake wife already.”

“You’ll have the best time working with Y/N.”

Seungkwan:

As yet another chuckle came from you, you’d almost forgotten that you were being filmed as Seungkwan laughed opposite you. “This is easy, isn’t it?” He suddenly asked you once he had composed himself.

“What is?” You replied with intrigue, taking a sip from your drink.

“This programme,” he simply stated, “I mean I don’t know why I was ever so nervous.”

“Sometimes I think we’re acting too much like a married couple,” you prompted, catching Seungkwan nodding too.

He couldn’t agree more with you as another laugh came. “Even the boys have mentioned how well we seem to be getting along too.”

“I guess that’s down to you and how at ease you’ve made me feel,” you tried to suggest, but Seungkwan was having none of it.

As he took a sip from his drink, his eyes were firmly on you. “I was going to say it’s down to you and how relaxed I feel with you.”

“I think we can agree it’s down to the both of us then,” you offered up, “and how great of a team the two of us make together.”

“Now that is something I can definitely agree to.”

Vernon:

Your eyes flickered around as you heard a voice, smiling weakly as a figure started to walk towards you. “A-are you my wife?” They asked, taking a few tentative steps towards you, relieved when your head nodded.

“I’m guessing that you must be my husband,” you smiled in reply.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he spoke, offering his hand out to you. “I’m Vernon by the way.”

“If we’re married, I don’t think we’re allowed to shake hands,” you laughed, pulling him into a hug. “I’m Y/N too, Vernon.”

The worry that Vernon felt was quickly eased by how comfortable you were around him. “I was so worried about who I’d get partnered with.”

“I hope I’ve not disappointed,” you joked as you pulled away from Vernon, “if nothing else, we’ll have fun together at least.”

Vernon’s head quickly shook as you spoke, “I’m definitely not disappointed at all, I think we’ll get along very well together.”

“Me too,” you agreed with a chuckle, “and I’ve seen plenty about you and your group to know what I’m getting myself into too.”

“I’m nowhere near as bad as some of them, promise.”

Dino:

You weren’t too sure why you were so nervous as Chan led you down to the beach, finding a quiet spot to sit in the sand. “Are you alright? Enjoying yourself?” He asked, with the cameras set up all around you.

“It’s probably the weirdest date I’ve ever been on,” you joked.

“Same,” Chan laughed, nudging against your side, “I always thought dates were private things.”

“Instead, we’ve decided to broadcast our date to thousands of viewers,” you sniggered, “what were we thinking signing up to this?”

As much as you both just wanted to ignore the cameras, it was proving difficult. “I at least thought that we’d get a few moments to ourselves.”

“It’s not our fault that the fans will probably want to see everything we do,” you jokingly suggested, “they must all be pretty excited.”

Chan nodded in agreement with you, “I’ve had plenty of your fans messaging me and telling me to take good care of you whilst we film.”

“You should see some of the messages that I’ve gotten from your fans,” you replied, “I’ve been given plenty of warnings from them.”

“Don’t worry, I promise that carats are harmless.”

---

Masterlist

[iwadori]

are you going to do a 'when the haikyuu boys make you insecure' part with Iwaizumi / could I request that?

When they make you insecure part 6 (Iwaizumi,Matsukawa)

Part 1 Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5 Part 6

Word Count: 2.8K

Genre: Angst, Fluff

masterlist

AN: Did I embedd myself in this story? Yes, yes i did. :3 (it’s only a small part dw loool)

Iwaizumi

One day when you were walking to the gym to go see your boyfriend  

You overhear him and the team talking about some instagram girl

“She’s hot” you hear Boktuo yell doing a hoot as he fawns over a picture, with the rest of the guys agreeing.  

“What do you think Iwaizumi?” Hinata ask  

“She’s cute... I guess?” the rest of the guys, grunt in disagreement at Iwa’s lack of drooling over the girl.

“Well I see why you wouldn’t want her Haji-kun,” says Atsumu “you are into the more simple girls bro”

“Simple?” Iwaizumi questions, and the rest of the guys agree

“Yeah simple, you know Y/N... she’s simple” says one of the guys, with the word ‘simple’ rolling off their tounge with a tone of disgust.

“I guess your right guys...” Iwaizumi says “Y/N is pretty basic and simple but-”

You leave the gym before you hear what the rest of them had to say. When you got to your house you bolt straight to the mirror, you look at your outfit and frown. You never thought your style was ‘basic,’ to be fair you wouldn’t describe anybodys style as basic or simple. Of course, you weren’t like those instagram influencers, that wasn’t your thing. But Iwa has known that about you for years... but I guess that’s not what he truly likes.

You go to your closet and take out all the contents, just tossing all your clothes (even some of your favourite items ever) and dashing them in a black trash bag putting them to the side. You were already on a mission to buy a whole new wardrobe, going through all different stores and looking on pinterest for inspo.

You didn’t really talk to Iwa for the rest of the week, since you wanted him to see you in your ‘new form,’ you weren’t being radiosilent but you didn’t initiate any hang outs with him or face time calls (which he did find slightly odd, but didn’t think that much by it.)

Finally, the clothes came and you were kind of shocked at how much you ordered you spent over £200 on clothes from all different places. When you were trying them on, you liked some of them the ones that were kind of similar to your past style but not so ‘simple,’ the others you kind of frowned at since it definitely didn’t feel like ‘you’ at all. ‘This is for Iwa,’ you reminded yourself as your forced a smile on your face analysing yourself in the mirror.

You had everything sorted, your wardrobe was now changed and done the colours and styles you once wore before is now the complete opposite. You invited Iwa over, hesistantly waiting to see how would he react.  

When you hear your door knock, you rush over to open it and model a pose you saw one of those girl do trying to look as natural as possible.

“Hey babe ho-” he says, with his eyes widening seeing your new look “Woah Y/N!”

“Hey Haji..come in!” you exclaim with a beaming smile pulling him inside to the couch. “So, are we going to continue watching the crown, I watched the previous episode and god prince phillip is such a dick.”

You look over your shoulder and see Iwa still standing in your entranceway a bit awkwardly, looking a bit stunned. “Come sit down then, we’ve got an episode to watch.”

“uh oh yeah, sure” he says blinking, following you to the couch.

You got through atleast 4 episodes together, you barely talked as you were really engrossed in the show. Iwa was barely paying attention, he was too busy questioning how you were acting. This definitely wasn’t the girl he knew, even the way you were acting whilst watch the show was odd. The way you’d cutely giggle and ‘sublty’ look over to him whilst laughing at a funny part of the show instead of just doing your usual obnoxious laugh that he loved to hear.

“Oh Y/N, I’m going to go to the bathroom.” he says standing up, you don’t reply you just wave your hand in acknowledgement.

On his way to the bathroom, Iwa nearly trips on a black bag left outside your bedroom door. He opens it, and mildly gasped when he saw all your old stuff jumbled up in there. He picks up the back and goes straight back to the living room and stands in front of you.

“Haji, what are you doing you’re blocking the TV” you complaining trying to see what’s happening behind him.

He drops the black bag infront of you and you internally curse yourself for not moving. You stare at him waiting for him to say something.

“Well whats this then.” he says looking down at you, almost like a disapproving dad.

“Clothes.” you say smartly, knowing what he was asking.

“You know what I meant Y/N, why are all your clothes in a garbage bag.”  

“Because I wanted to put them there,” you wanted to seem as nochalant about it as possible as if putting all your clothes in a garbage bag doesn’t make you feel sad.

“Yeah but why?” he says sitting down next to you.

“Just because I wanted to” you reiterate “what else do you want me to say?”

“Well this isn’t like you, its just a bit random Y/N” he says

“I know this isnt like me you” you spat, standing up “Isn’t this what you wanted anyways.” You head to your bedroom picking up the bag with you, with Iwa hot on your heels.

“What do you mean this is what I wanted?” he says in disbelief “When did I ever say that?”

“It doesn’t matter” you mumble, you start to aggressively take our your old clothes and shove them back into your wardrobe whilst Iwa is just talking. You’re not really listening to him your just putting the clothes back.

“Y/N Stop!” he yells kind of knocking you out of your ‘trance,’ “what is going on with you?” he grabs you hands and pulls them down stopping you from what you were doing and he winced at seeing your tear stricken face.

He gently pulls you into his arms sitting you both on your bed, waiting for you to speak. “I don’t know what you want from me Iwa..” you start your voice slightly breaking “it’s just I did this all for you and you don’t even appreciate it.”

“I don’t know what you mean Y/N?” he says sounding genuinely confused.

“Y/N is simple and basic.” you say repeating words that you heard your boyfriend say about you, you feel him tense as you say it and you slowly get out of his hug.

“Y/N I-”

“That really hurt Hajime, I know now that I'm not your ��type’ but I-”

“No Y/N, you are my type of course you are!” he says gulping in nervousness “I love you, and your style. I’ve always being enamored by how you dress and present yourself and I don’t know why I even said you’re basic and simple I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Really?” you say sniffling looking down

“Yes really you idiot,” he says lifting your head up “To be fair I don’t care what you wear, since you look great in anthing I just want you to be happy Y/N and especially not dress for anyone including me. Okay?”

“Okay,” you agree slightly nodding your head.

“Good, so can we go and finish the crown and then burn all these clothes?” Iwa jokes as he stands up.

“Burn them!” you exclaim “These cost £200, you muppet.”

“£200! Gosh Y/N, next time you go shopping im definitely coming with you.” he says shaking his head “can’t have you blowing out your bank account for clothes you don’t even like that much.”

You spend the rest of the day finishing of The Crown and you and Iwa eventually both sort out your wardrobe. Your style and aethetic changes a lot more through the times you were together and Iwa was very supportive and helpful of every single change. Especially *insert your favourite dress aesthetic here.*

Matsukawa

You were walking with your friends; Iwa, Tooru, Maki and your boyfriend Matsun. Walking to school as you did every morning, today the topic of conversation was Tooru’s bad taste in women.

“Gosh yesterday was horrible, she didn’t want to talk to me at all,” he complained “all she wanted to do was to come straight to my place, I didn’t even have the chance to tell her my hair routine.”

“That’s why you don’t find dates off of Tinder shittykawa” grunted Iwaizumi

“Well I know that now!” he exclaimed.

“Y/N,” said Makki grasping your attention “Would you ever use Tinder?”

“Well I-”

“Of course she wouldn’t” your boyfriend interrupted wrapping his arm round your shoulder “she’s got me”

“Yeah, but if you two weren’t together, would you use it.”

“Well may-”  

“Y/N definitely wouldn’t” he said interrupting you AGAIN “she’s way to frigid for that shit”

Frigid? You thought to yourself, ouch. Their was a quick awkward silence and all you could hear was Matsukawa laughing with the others laughing after awkwardly in pursuit. After sensing your uncomfortability (is that a word?) Oikawa decides to change the subject to make things less awkward,

“I need a woman who understands me!” he rants “One that can listen to me and appreciate my awesome hair.”

“Goodluck with that Shittykawa.”  

Oikawa rambles on as you walk to school with the other guys chiming in. You on the other hand, were lost in thought. Your sex life wasn’t something you would want to publicly talk about let alone to you and your boyfriends' male friends. Also, with Matsun describing you as ‘frigid’ struck a nerve. You weren’t frigid, well at least to you, you weren’t.  

When you got to school you immediately rushed straight to your lesson claiming that you teacher really needed to talk to you. Which was odd to Matsukawa as you usually all hung around each other until the bell rang, the other boys gave each other knowing looks all assuming the reasons for your odd behaviour.

At lunch time, you stayed in your class instead of going up to the roof where you and your friends usually end up. In the class room you hear one of the girls in your class, Empress having one of her usual gossip conversations with her group of friends.

“Hajime is so hot!” she said, fanning her face being dramatic  

“Of course he is! You should totally go for him.” her friend said and the rest of the friends agreed.

“What do you think Y/N?” she says to you catching your attention “you’re close friends with him right?”

“Yeah, I am” you say a bit sadly “You should definitely go for him, I think you’d be perfect together.”

“Okay! I think I might later” she says smiling. Her and friends leave, but then Empress returns and walks straight to you.

“Are you alright doll?” she asks softly smiling

“I guess so..” you say hesitantly “It’s just something my boyfriend said to me this morning.”

“Matsun?” she asks and you nod in reply “What did he say?”

After you rehash the situation from this morning Empress scowls in annoyance, “Boys can be such pigs sometimes, such a dick thing to say.”

“I know right!” you respond “Even if I was frigid, which im totally not it’s not even a bad thing nor is it something to reveal to people in public in a ‘jokey’ way.”

“Yeah!” she agrees “I think you should go and give him a piece of your mind.”

“I mean...” your voice falters, when it comes to Matsun you’ve never really given him a ‘piece of your mind,’ even when he makes jokes that you’re not so fond of.

“Come on!” she encourages “I’ll come with you and cheer you on.”

“You just want to come to see Iwa Empress” you say pointedly “But fine let’s go.”

You both power walk to the roof where you see the four seijoh boys sitting down and eating. “Oh hi Y/N/-chan and look Iwa its Emp-chan... isn’t that a surprise!” Iwa blushes and the rest of the guys laugh.

You walk straight up to Matsun and stand right infront of him. “Matsukawa I need to talk to you,” you say folding your arms. “Why whats up babe?” he says, still sitting down with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Alone.” you say turning around walking to a secluded spot. Behind you, you hear Matsun get up and the rest of the boys saying “oooh Matsukawa your in trouble” as they laugh.

“What’s wrong with you today Y/N?” he asks slightly accusatorily.  

“I didn’t appreciate the comment you made today on the way to school,” you say with your arms folded.

“Oh that little comment about you being frigid, come on it was just a joke I wasn’t being serious.” he says lightly laughing but he stops once he sees the glare you give him ”you knew it was a joke right?”

“Matsun, some are your jokes just aren’t funny,” you say “especially when they're about me and our sex life in front of our friends too.”

“Y/N I didn’t mea-”

“You just come off as a huge dick sometimes, and I can’t do this anymore if you keep on making these comments anymore I don’t think I can do this.”

“Woah Y/N, are you threatening to break up with me?” he asks “Over a few little comments?”

“These aren’t a few little comments, sometimes what you say is just unnecessary and rude.”

“Okay well...”

“Well...” you repeat staring at him waiting for to apologise or atleast say something, “fuck you Matsukawa.”

You storm away and walk bout to the group saying “Empress lets go.” She jumps of Iwa’s lap and waves by to them following you back down to the school. You walk into the bathroom and just start to cry, “Y/N whats wrong?” Empress says pulling you into a hug  

“H-He doesn’t care,” you cry “He pretty much excused his stupid comments, passing them off as little ‘jokes,’ that didn’t apparently mean anything.”

“Oh dear,” Empress says consoling you “he’s not worth your time right now.”

“B-but but I love him.” you wail fat tears streaming down your face.

“I know sweetheart, I know,” she says letting go of the hug “so what do you wanna do about him?”

“I don’t know,” you say “I don’t want to break up with him or anything, but is there a point in staying if he’s just going to make these comments again.”

“I don’t know Y/N, but whatever you wanna do I’ll support. Wether it’s keying his car or reading shitty fanfiction and crying.” Empress says making you laugh.

The final bell rings and now it's time to go home, of course you don’t walk with the guys so you just enjoy your own company walking home.

“Y/N! Y/N!” you hear from behind you and of course the only person it can be is Matsukawa.

“What do you want?” you mumbled  

“I..I want too” he says heaving out of breath from the running he had to do “I want to apologise. I need do.”

“Okay...” you respond

“Im sorry, Im so so sorry,” he says “those jokes and comments were stupid and I agree I can be a dick sometimes. Well a lot of the time, but I never wanted to be a dick to you.”

“Well you were.”

“I know I was, and I’m so sorry. There’s no excuse what I said and what I have said before I just hope I can make it up to you.”

“Okay then.”

“So are we not broken up?”

“No we’re not broken up, but it’ll take a lot of making up to do for me to fully forgive you.”

“Great! And I'll spend every day to get you to forgive me.”

Which he did, he spent every day showering you with love and affection. He was way better than he was before, you even went on double dates with Oikawa and his flavour of the week and triple dates with Iwa and his girlfriend. Matsukawa, although he still made jokes, he never targeted them and centered them around you in an insulting way.

AN: I didn’t really like the matsukawa one since i couldn’t really write for him properyl sooo sorry bout that one kids.